Metabolomics study for investigating the specific role of INOSITOL-REQUIRING ENZYME 1A and INOSITOL-REQUIRING ENZYME 1B under chronic endoplasmic reticulum stress in Arabidopsis thaliana

The Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) is a retrograde, ER-to-nucleus, signalling pathway which is conserved across kingdoms. In plants, it contributes to development, reproduction, immunity and tolerance to abiotic stress. This metabolomic dataset was produced from 14-day-old Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings challenged by tunicamycin (Tm), an antibiotic inhibiting Asn-linked glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), causing an ER stress and eventually activating the UPR. Wild-type (WT), double mutant deficient for two main actors of the UPR (INOSITOL-REQUIRING ENZYME 1A [IRE1A] and INOSITOL-REQUIRING ENZYME 1B [IRE1B]), as well as doubles mutants complemented with either of the WT IRE1 alleles were used as genetic backgrounds in our experimental setup. This allows to distinguish among differentially-overaccumulated metabolites which ones are dependent on IRE1A and/or IRE1B. Also, shoots and roots were harvested separately to determine organ-specific metabolic responses to Tm.