Analysis of Species‐Specific Non‐Polar Metabolic Responses to Drought Stress in Gossypium herbaceum L. and Gossypium hirsutum L. Using GC ‐ MS Technique

ABSTRACT Drought stress induced substantial metabolic changes in Gossypium herbaceum and Gossypium hirsutum . Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (GC‐MS)‐based profiling of non‐polar metabolites from leaves and stems identified 54 compounds, including fatty acids, sterols, hydrocarbons and amino acid derivatives. In G. herbaceum , drought mainly elevated linolenic acid (12.23% ± 0.10%), benzoic acid (6.97% ± 0.18%), proline (0.65% ± 0.09%), quinoline derivatives (27.81% ± 1.23%), linoleic acid (6.76% ± 0.13%) and campesterol (0.24% ± 0.02%). In contrast, G. hirsutum primarily showed increased levels of quinoline derivatives (26.37% ± 0.29%) and myristic acid (5.94% ± 0.04%) under drought conditions. Species‐specific variations indicated greater drought resilience in G. herbaceum , marked by the accumulation of key stress‐related metabolites.