{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T06:12:27Z","timestamp":1788502347478,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      High oiliness is a crucial trait evaluated in flue-cured tobacco (\n                      <jats:italic>Nicotiana tabacum L<\/jats:italic>\n                      .) after the curing process, determining its visual appeal and industrial usability. However, its specific metabolic characteristics and objective evaluation markers remain unclear.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this study, widely targeted metabolomics and conventional chemical analyses were integrated to systematically profile flue-cured leaves with varying oiliness levels. Results: We identified robust candidate biomarker panels--comprising 20 and 21 characteristic metabolites for middle and upper leaves, respectively--that effectively distinguish the high-oiliness phenotype. Interestingly, our results revealed distinct positional differences in the metabolic signatures associated with high oiliness. In middle leaves, high oiliness was predominantly characterized by elevated soluble sugars and a significant enrichment of phenylpropanoid-derived aroma precursors (e.g., coniferin and syringin), alongside a concomitant accumulation of chloride. Conversely, high-oiliness upper leaves exhibited a distinct signature of lipid remodeling and oxylipin accumulation represented by 9-OxoODE and 12-oxo-PDA; these metabolites were significantly negatively correlated with starch content. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis validated the high classification accuracy of these candidate biomarkers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although further mechanistic validation is required, this study elucidates the complex metabolic profiles of high-oiliness tobacco leaves, providing an objective biochemical evaluation framework and molecular candidate targets for standardized post-curing tobacco grading and precision breeding of high-oiliness varieties.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1890505","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T05:28:44Z","timestamp":1788499724000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Metabolomics reveals signature metabolites associated with high-oiliness flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xiaodong","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guo","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yajie","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaohua","family":"Ge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1656","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrestox.3c00150","article-title":"Nontargeted analysis in tobacco research: Challenges and opportunities","volume":"36","author":"Adeniji","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chem. 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