Maize Genomics and Genetics 2025, Vol.16, No.6, 284-293 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/mgg 284 Research Insight Open Access Metabolomic Insights Into Maize Salt Stress Response and Tolerant Genotypes Huijuan Xu, Xiaojing Yang, Han Liu Modern Agricultural Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: han.liu@cuixi.org Maize Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol.16, No.6 doi: 10.5376/mgg.2025.16.0026 Received: 06 Sep., 2025 Accepted: 23 Oct., 2025 Published: 06 Nov., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Xu et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Xu H.J., Yang X.J., and Liu H., 2025, Metabolomic insights into maize salt stress response and tolerant genotypes, Maize Genomics and Genetics, 16(6): 284-293 (doi: 10.5376/mgg.2025.16.0026) Abstract Soil salinity operates as a worldwide abiotic stress which restricts maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation and threatens worldwide food security. Recent studies in metabolomics have enabled scientists to identify the biochemical and molecular pathways which control salt tolerance in maize plants. The research shows that tolerant genotypes produce more osmoprotectants including proline and raffinose and soluble sugars and secondary metabolites like flavonoids and phenolic acids which work together to protect cells through osmotic adjustment and ROS detoxification and membrane stability. Studies of networks demonstrate that tolerant genotypes form modular structures with redundant components which enhances their resistance to stress. The combination of metabolomics with quantitative genetics through mQTL and mGWAS methods has discovered specific biomarkers and causal genes which include proline and raffinose and lipid metabolism genes that can be used directly for breeding purposes. Functional validation using transgenic and genome editing technologies confirms causal links between metabolites and salt resilience. Metabolite markers show their translational value for germplasm screening and breeding pipelines through particular examples. The future of metabolomics will experience a transformation through spatiotemporal metabolomics advancements and multi-omics integration and computational modeling which will shift the field from descriptive observation to predictive and mechanistic biology. Scientists use Metabolomics as a strategic platform to study salt tolerance mechanisms while creating salt-resistant maize varieties for sustainable salt-affected area agriculture. Keywords Maize (Zeamays L.); Salt stress; Metabolomics; Osmoprotectants and secondary metabolites; Molecular breeding 1 Introduction Soil salinity is a major abiotic stress threatening global agriculture, with nearly 20% of irrigated land worldwide already affected and the extent projected to expand due to climate change and intensive irrigation. Maize (Zea mays L.) ranks as the world's third most important cereal crop yet it remains highly sensitive to salt stress which causes growth reduction and decreased grain yield and quality during its early developmental phases. This makes salt tolerance improvement an urgent priority for global food security and sustainable agriculture. Traditional physiological research into maize salt tolerance has developed into modern scientific studies which use molecular and omics-based approaches. The first studies investigated how sodium and chloride accumulation results in cell damage through osmotic disruptions and toxic ion effects but contemporary molecular studies have discovered stress response pathways which involve ion transporters and osmoprotectant synthesis and transcriptional regulation. High-throughput omics technology has made metabolomics a strong analytical method to study salt tolerance mechanisms through its ability to show how genomic and transcriptomic and proteomic regulations combine (Brar et al., 2025; Ren et al., 2025). The tolerant maize genotypes produce elevated amounts of protective metabolites which include proline and flavonoids and fatty acids that help with osmotic adjustment and antioxidative defense and membrane stability under salinity conditions (Yue et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2024). The metabolic pathways that undergo reprogramming include starch and sucrose metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid metabolism which help plants adapt to stress conditions (Ren et al., 2025). The research investigation identified three genes which show promise for molecular breeding because they connect to plant salt tolerance mechanisms through citrate synthase and glucosyltransferases and cytochrome P450s (Liang et al., 2021; Brar et al., 2025).
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