From metabolomes to phenotypes: predictive metabolomics across scales.

Predictive metabolomics combined with machine learning can link plant metabolic fingerprints to complex phenotypes like yield and stress resistance across biological scales.

• Why it matters: Understanding how metabolic networks influence plant traits is crucial for improving crop performance and ecosystem management, yet current limitations hinder widespread application.
• What they did: The review discusses advances in metabolomics technologies, including ecosystem-scale approaches and integration with other methods, to connect molecular processes with phenotypic outcomes.
• The result: This approach offers actionable opportunities for crop improvement and sustainable agriculture, despite challenges like costs, sampling constraints, and data interoperability.