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Xu X, Zhang C, Lai C, Zhang Z, Wu J, Su Q, Gan Y, Zhang Z, Chen Y, Guo R, Lin Y, Lai Z. Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of Bx Involved in Benzoxazinoids Biosynthesis Revealed the Roles of DIMBOA during Early Somatic Embryogenesis in Dimocarpus longan Lour. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1373. [PMID: 38794443 PMCID: PMC11125010 DOI: 10.3390/plants13101373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Benzoxazinoids (BXs) are tryptophan-derived indole metabolites and play a role in various physiological processes, such as auxin metabolism. Auxin is essential in the process of somatic embryogenesis (SE) in plants. In this study, we used bioinformatics, transcriptome data, exogenous treatment experiments, and qPCR analysis to study the evolutionary pattern of Bx genes in green plants, the regulatory mechanism of DlBx genes during early SE, and the effect of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazine-3-one (DIMBOA) on the early SE in Dimocarpus longan Lour. The results showed that 27 putative DlBxs were identified in the longan genome; the Bx genes evolved independently in monocots and dicots, and the main way of gene duplication for the DlBx was tandem duplication (TD) and the DlBx were strongly constrained by purification selection during evolution. The transcriptome data indicated varying expression levels of DlBx during longan early SE, and most DlBxs responded to light, temperature, drought stress, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) treatment; qRT-PCR results showed DlBx1, DlBx6g and DlBx6h were responsive to auxin, and treatment with 0.1mg/L DIMBOA for 9 days significantly upregulated the expression levels of DlBx1, DlBx3g, DlBx6c, DlBx6f, DlB6h, DlBx7d, DlBx8, and DlBx9b. The correlation analysis showed a significantly negative correlation between the expression level of DlBx1 and the endogenous IAA contents; DIMBOA significantly promoted the early SE and significantly changed the endogenous IAA content, and the IAA content increased significantly at the 9th day and decreased significantly at the 13th day. Therefore, the results suggested that DIMBOA indirectly promote the early SE by changing the endogenous IAA content via affecting the expression level of DlBx1 and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content in longan.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Zhongxiong Lai
- Institute of Horticultural Biotechnology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; (X.X.); (C.Z.); (C.L.); (Z.Z.); (J.W.); (Q.S.); (Y.G.); (Z.Z.); (Y.C.); (R.G.); (Y.L.)
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2
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Hama JR, Fomsgaard IS, Topalović O, Vestergård M. Root uptake of cereal benzoxazinoids grants resistance to root-knot nematode invasion in white clover. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2024; 210:108636. [PMID: 38657547 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Plants synthesize a plethora of chemical defence compounds, which vary between evolutionary lineages. We hypothesize that plants evolved the ability to utilize defence compounds synthesized and released by neighbouring heterospecific plants. In two experiments, we incubated clover (Trifolium repens L.) seedlings with individual benzoxazinoid (BX) compounds (2,4-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one, 2-hydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one, benzoxazolinone, and 6-methoxy- benzoxazolin-2-one), a group of bioactive compounds produced by cereals, to allow clover BX uptake. Subsequently, we transplanted the seedlings into soil and quantified BX root and shoot content and invasion of root-knot nematodes in clover roots up to 8 weeks after transplantation. We show that clover root uptake of BXs substantially enhanced clover's resistance against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. This effect lasted up to 6 weeks after the clover roots were exposed to the BXs. BXs were absorbed by clover roots, and then translocated to the shoots. As a result of clover metabolization, we detected the parent BXs and a range of their transformation products in the roots and shoots. Based on these novel findings, we envisage that co-cultivation of crop species with complementary and transferable chemical defence systems can add to plant protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jawameer R Hama
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Inge S Fomsgaard
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Olivera Topalović
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Mette Vestergård
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200, Slagelse, Denmark.
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3
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Liu C, He S, Chen J, Wang M, Li Z, Wei L, Chen Y, Du M, Liu D, Li C, An C, Bhadauria V, Lai J, Zhu W. A dual-subcellular localized β-glucosidase confers pathogen and insect resistance without a yield penalty in maize. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2024; 22:1017-1032. [PMID: 38012865 PMCID: PMC10955503 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.14242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Maize is one of the most important crops for food, cattle feed and energy production. However, maize is frequently attacked by various pathogens and pests, which pose a significant threat to maize yield and quality. Identification of quantitative trait loci and genes for resistance to pests will provide the basis for resistance breeding in maize. Here, a β-glucosidase ZmBGLU17 was identified as a resistance gene against Pythium aphanidermatum, one of the causal agents of corn stalk rot, by genome-wide association analysis. Genetic analysis showed that both structural variations at the promoter and a single nucleotide polymorphism at the fifth intron distinguish the two ZmBGLU17 alleles. The causative polymorphism near the GT-AG splice site activates cryptic alternative splicing and intron retention of ZmBGLU17 mRNA, leading to the downregulation of functional ZmBGLU17 transcripts. ZmBGLU17 localizes in both the extracellular matrix and vacuole and contribute to the accumulation of two defence metabolites lignin and DIMBOA. Silencing of ZmBGLU17 reduces maize resistance against P. aphanidermatum, while overexpression significantly enhances resistance of maize against both the oomycete pathogen P. aphanidermatum and the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis. Notably, ZmBGLU17 overexpression lines exhibited normal growth and yield phenotype in the field. Taken together, our findings reveal that the apoplastic and vacuolar localized ZmBGLU17 confers resistance to both pathogens and insect pests in maize without a yield penalty, by fine-tuning the accumulation of lignin and DIMBOA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuang Liu
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Shengfeng He
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Junbin Chen
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Mingyu Wang
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Zhenju Li
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Luyang Wei
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yan Chen
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Meida Du
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Dandan Liu
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Cai Li
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Chunju An
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio‐breedingChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Vijai Bhadauria
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Jinsheng Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio‐breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Department of Plant Genetics and BreedingChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Wangsheng Zhu
- China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, and College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio‐breedingChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
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4
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Caggìa V, Wälchli J, Deslandes-Hérold G, Mateo P, Robert CAM, Guan H, Bigalke M, Spielvogel S, Mestrot A, Schlaeppi K, Erb M. Root-exuded specialized metabolites reduce arsenic toxicity in maize. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314261121. [PMID: 38513094 PMCID: PMC10990099 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314261121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
By releasing specialized metabolites, plants modify their environment. Whether and how specialized metabolites protect plants against toxic levels of trace elements is not well understood. We evaluated whether benzoxazinoids, which are released into the soil by major cereals, can confer protection against arsenic toxicity. Benzoxazinoid-producing maize plants performed better in arsenic-contaminated soils than benzoxazinoid-deficient mutants in the greenhouse and the field. Adding benzoxazinoids to the soil restored the protective effect, and the effect persisted to the next crop generation via positive plant-soil feedback. Arsenate levels in the soil and total arsenic levels in the roots were lower in the presence of benzoxazinoids. Thus, the protective effect of benzoxazinoids is likely soil-mediated and includes changes in soil arsenic speciation and root accumulation. We conclude that exuded specialized metabolites can enhance protection against toxic trace elements via soil-mediated processes and may thereby stabilize crop productivity in polluted agroecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Caggìa
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, BernCH-3013, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | - Jan Wälchli
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | | | - Pierre Mateo
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, BernCH-3013, Switzerland
| | | | - Hang Guan
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, BernCH-3012, Switzerland
| | - Moritz Bigalke
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, BernCH-3012, Switzerland
- Institute of Applied Geoscience, Technical University Darmstadt, DarmstadtD-64287, Germany
| | - Sandra Spielvogel
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel24118, Germany
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich52425, Germany
| | - Adrien Mestrot
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, BernCH-3012, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Schlaeppi
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, BernCH-3013, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, BernCH-3013, Switzerland
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5
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Gfeller V, Thoenen L, Erb M. Root-exuded benzoxazinoids can alleviate negative plant-soil feedbacks. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 241:2575-2588. [PMID: 38087806 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Plants can suppress the growth of other plants by modifying soil properties. These negative plant-soil feedbacks are often species-specific, suggesting that some plants possess resistance strategies. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether benzoxazinoids, a class of dominant secondary metabolites that are exuded into the soil by maize and other cereals, allow maize plants to cope with plant-soil feedbacks. We find that three out of five tested crop species reduce maize (Zea mays L.) performance via negative plant-soil feedbacks relative to the mean across species. This effect is partially alleviated by the capacity of maize plants to produce benzoxazinoids. Soil complementation with purified benzoxazinoids restores the protective effect for benzoxazinoid-deficient mutants. Sterilization and reinoculation experiments suggest that benzoxazinoid-mediated protection acts via changes in soil biota. Substantial variation of the protective effect between experiments and soil types illustrates context dependency. In conclusion, exuded plant secondary metabolites allow plants to cope with plant-soil feedbacks. These findings expand the functional repertoire of plant secondary metabolites and reveal a mechanism by which plants can resist negative effects of soil feedbacks. The uncovered phenomenon may represent a promising avenue to stabilize plant performance in crop rotations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Gfeller
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Crop Sciences, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), 5070, Frick, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Thoenen
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
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6
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Thoenen L, Giroud C, Kreuzer M, Waelchli J, Gfeller V, Deslandes-Hérold G, Mateo P, Robert CAM, Ahrens CH, Rubio-Somoza I, Bruggmann R, Erb M, Schlaeppi K. Bacterial tolerance to host-exuded specialized metabolites structures the maize root microbiome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2310134120. [PMID: 37878725 PMCID: PMC10622871 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310134120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants exude specialized metabolites from their roots, and these compounds are known to structure the root microbiome. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We established a representative collection of maize root bacteria and tested their tolerance against benzoxazinoids (BXs), the dominant specialized and bioactive metabolites in the root exudates of maize plants. In vitro experiments revealed that BXs inhibited bacterial growth in a strain- and compound-dependent manner. Tolerance against these selective antimicrobial compounds depended on bacterial cell wall structure. Further, we found that native root bacteria isolated from maize tolerated the BXs better compared to nonhost Arabidopsis bacteria. This finding suggests the adaptation of the root bacteria to the specialized metabolites of their host plant. Bacterial tolerance to 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one (MBOA), the most abundant and selective antimicrobial metabolite in the maize rhizosphere, correlated significantly with the abundance of these bacteria on BX-exuding maize roots. Thus, strain-dependent tolerance to BXs largely explained the abundance pattern of bacteria on maize roots. Abundant bacteria generally tolerated MBOA, while low abundant root microbiome members were sensitive to this compound. Our findings reveal that tolerance to plant specialized metabolites is an important competence determinant for root colonization. We propose that bacterial tolerance to root-derived antimicrobial compounds is an underlying mechanism determining the structure of host-specific microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Thoenen
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern3013, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | - Caitlin Giroud
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | - Marco Kreuzer
- Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit, University of Bern, Bern3012, Switzerland
| | - Jan Waelchli
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
| | - Valentin Gfeller
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern3013, Switzerland
| | | | - Pierre Mateo
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern3013, Switzerland
| | | | - Christian H. Ahrens
- Method Development and Analytics, Group Molecular Ecology, Agroscope, Zürich8046, Switzerland
| | - Ignacio Rubio-Somoza
- Molecular Reprogramming and Evolution Lab, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona08193, Spain
| | - Rémy Bruggmann
- Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit, University of Bern, Bern3012, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern3013, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Schlaeppi
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern3013, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel4056, Switzerland
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7
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Yactayo-Chang JP, Block AK. The impact of climate change on maize chemical defenses. Biochem J 2023; 480:1285-1298. [PMID: 37622733 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20220444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is increasingly affecting agriculture, both at the levels of crops themselves, and by altering the distribution and damage caused by insect or microbial pests. As global food security depends on the reliable production of major crops such as maize (Zea mays), it is vital that appropriate steps are taken to mitigate these negative impacts. To do this a clear understanding of what the impacts are and how they occur is needed. This review focuses on the impact of climate change on the production and effectiveness of maize chemical defenses, including volatile organic compounds, terpenoid phytoalexins, benzoxazinoids, phenolics, and flavonoids. Drought, flooding, heat stress, and elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, all impact the production of maize chemical defenses, in a compound and tissue-specific manner. Furthermore, changes in stomatal conductance and altered soil conditions caused by climate change can impact environmental dispersal and effectiveness certain chemicals. This can alter both defensive barrier formation and multitrophic interactions. The production of defense chemicals is controlled by stress signaling networks. The use of similar networks to co-ordinate the response to abiotic and biotic stress can lead to complex integration of these networks in response to the combinatorial stresses that are likely to occur in a changing climate. The impact of multiple stressors on maize chemical defenses can therefore be different from the sum of the responses to individual stressors and challenging to predict. Much work remains to effectively leverage these protective chemicals in climate-resilient maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica P Yactayo-Chang
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Chemistry Research Unit, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A
| | - Anna K Block
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Chemistry Research Unit, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A
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8
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Ma C, Li R, Sun Y, Zhang M, Li S, Xu Y, Song J, Li J, Qi J, Wang L, Wu J. ZmMYC2s play important roles in maize responses to simulated herbivory and jasmonate. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 65:1041-1058. [PMID: 36349965 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Both herbivory and jasmonic acid (JA) activate the biosynthesis of defensive metabolites in maize, but the mechanism underlying this remains unclear. We generated maize mutants in which ZmMYC2a and ZmMYC2b, two transcription factor genes important in JA signaling, were individually or both knocked out. Genetic and biochemical analyses were used to elucidate the functions of ZmMYC2 proteins in the maize response to simulated herbivory and JA. Compared with the wild-type (WT) maize, the double mutant myc2ab was highly susceptible to insects, and the levels of benzoxazinoids and volatile terpenes, and the levels of their biosynthesis gene transcripts, were much lower in the mutants than in the WT maize after simulated insect feeding or JA treatment. Moreover, ZmMYC2a and ZmMYC2b played a redundant role in maize resistance to insects and JA signaling. Transcriptome and Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation-Sequencing (CUT&Tag-Seq) analysis indicated that ZmMYC2s physically targeted 60% of the JA-responsive genes, even though only 33% of these genes were transcriptionally ZmMYC2-dependent. Importantly, CUT&Tag-Seq and dual luciferase assays revealed that ZmMYC2s transactivate the benzoxazinoid and volatile terpene biosynthesis genes IGPS1/3, BX10/11/12/14, and TPS10/2/3/4/5/8 by directly binding to their promoters. Furthermore, several transcription factors physically targeted by ZmMYC2s were identified, and these are likely to function in the regulation of benzoxazinoid biosynthesis. This work reveals the transcriptional regulatory landscapes of both JA signaling and ZmMYC2s in maize and provides comprehensive mechanistic insight into how JA signaling modulates defenses in maize responses to herbivory through ZmMYC2s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canrong Ma
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Ruoyue Li
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yan Sun
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Mou Zhang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Sen Li
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yuxing Xu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Juan Song
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jinfeng Qi
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jianqiang Wu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Chinese Academy of Science Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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9
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Xiao Z, Fan N, Zhu W, Qian HL, Yan XP, Wang Z, Rasmann S. Silicon Nanodots Increase Plant Resistance against Herbivores by Simultaneously Activating Physical and Chemical Defenses. ACS NANO 2023; 17:3107-3118. [PMID: 36705522 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c12070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Nanosilicon applications have been shown to increase plant defenses against both abiotic and biotic stresses. Silicon quantum nanodots (Si NDs), a form of nanosilicon, possess excellent biological and physiochemical properties (e.g., minimal size, high water solubility, stability, and biocompatibility), potentially making them more efficient in regulating plant responses to stress than other forms of silicon. However, to date, we still lack mechanistic evidence for how soil-applied Si NDs alter the regulation of plant physical and chemical defenses against insect herbivores. To address this gap, we compared the effect of fluorescent amine-functionalized Si NDs (5 nm) and the conventional fertilizer sodium silicate on maize (Zea mays L.) physical and chemical defenses against the oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata, Walker) caterpillars. We found that 50 mg/kg Si NDs and sodium silicate additions inhibited the growth of caterpillars the most (35.7% and 22.8%, respectively) as compared to other application doses (0, 10, and 150 mg/kg). Both Si NDs and silicate addition activated biosynthesis genes responsible for chemical (benzoxazinoids) and physical (lignin) defense production. Moreover, Si NDs upregulated the gene expression of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and POD) and promoted the antioxidant metabolism (flavonoids) in maize leaves under M. separata attack. Finally, we show that, under field conditions, Si ND addition increased maize cob weight (28.7%), cob grain weight (40.8%), and 100-grain weight (26.5%) as compared to the control, and more so than the conventional silicon fertilizer. Altogether, our findings highlight the potential for Si NDs to be used as an effective and ecofriendly crop protection strategy in agroecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenggao Xiao
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Ningke Fan
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Wenqing Zhu
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Hai-Long Qian
- Institute of Analytical Food Safety, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xiu-Ping Yan
- Institute of Analytical Food Safety, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Sergio Rasmann
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchatel 2000, Switzerland
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10
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Mbiza NIT, Hu Z, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Luo X, Wang Y, Wang Y, Liu T, Li J, Wang X, Zhang J, Yu Y. GhCalS5 is involved in cotton response to aphid attack through mediating callose formation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:892630. [PMID: 35937318 PMCID: PMC9350506 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.892630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Callose synthase plays an essential role in plant growth and development and in response to all sorts of stresses through regulating callose formation. However, few research about the function and mechanism of the insect resistance of callose synthase genes have been reported in cotton. In this study, a cotton callose synthase gene GhCalS5 was cloned, and its function and mechanism of resistance to cotton aphids were analyzed. The expression of GhCalS5 was significantly upregulated in both, leaves and stems of cotton plants at 48 h after cotton aphid infestation and in the leaves of cotton plants at 24 h after salicylic acid treatment. The overexpression of GhCalS5 enhanced cotton resistance to cotton aphids. Expectedly silencing of GhCalS5 reduced cotton resistance to cotton aphids. Overexpression of GhCalS5 enhanced callose formation in cotton leaves. Our results suggest that GhCalS5 is involved in cotton resistance against cotton aphids by influencing callose formation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zongwei Hu
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Haoran Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Xincheng Luo
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yuxue Wang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yi Wang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Ting Liu
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Jianping Li
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Xiangping Wang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Jianmin Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Institute of Entomology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yonghao Yu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Biology for Crop Diseases and Insect Pests, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, China
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11
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Ji M, Bui H, Ramirez RA, Clark RM. Concerted cis and trans effects underpin heightened defense gene expression in multi-herbivore-resistant maize lines. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 111:508-528. [PMID: 35575017 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In maize (Zea mays ssp. mays), agriculturally damaging herbivores include lepidopteran insects, such as the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), and distantly related arthropods, like the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae). A small number of maize lines, including B96 and B75, are highly resistant to both herbivores, and B96 is also resistant to thrips. Using T. urticae as a representative pest that causes significant leaf tissue damage, we examined the gene expression responses of these lines to herbivory in comparison with each other and with the susceptible line B73. Upon herbivory, the most resistant line, B96, showed the strongest gene expression response, with a dramatic upregulation of genes associated with jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling, as well as the biosynthesis of specialized herbivore deterrent compounds, such as death acids and benzoxazinoids. Extending this work with allele-specific expression analyses in F1 hybrids, we inferred that the concerted upregulation of many defense genes, including the majority of benzoxazinoid biosynthetic genes in B96, as compared with B73, for the herbivore treatment, resulted from an assemblage of trans control and multiple cis effects acting with similar directionality on gene expression. Further, at the level of individual and potentially rate limiting genes in several major defense pathways, cis and trans effects acted in a reinforcing manner to result in exceptionally high expression in B96. Our study provides a comprehensive resource of cis elements for maize lines important in breeding efforts for herbivore resistance, and reveals potential genetic underpinnings of the origins of multi-herbivore resistance in plant populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiyuan Ji
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Huyen Bui
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Ricardo A Ramirez
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84332, USA
| | - Richard M Clark
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
- Henry Eyring Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, 1390 Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
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12
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Ye W, Bustos‐Segura C, Degen T, Erb M, Turlings TCJ. Belowground and aboveground herbivory differentially affect the transcriptome in roots and shoots of maize. PLANT DIRECT 2022; 6:e426. [PMID: 35898557 PMCID: PMC9307387 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Plants recognize and respond to feeding by herbivorous insects by upregulating their local and systemic defenses. While defense induction by aboveground herbivores has been well studied, far less is known about local and systemic defense responses against attacks by belowground herbivores. Here, we investigated and compared the responses of the maize transcriptome to belowground and aboveground mechanical damage and infestation by two well-adapted herbivores: the soil-dwelling western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the leaf-chewing fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). In responses to both herbivores, maize plants were found to alter local transcription of genes involved in phytohormone signaling, primary and secondary metabolism. Induction by real herbivore damage was considerably stronger and modified the expression of more genes than mechanical damage. Feeding by the corn rootworm had a strong impact on the shoot transcriptome, including the activation of genes involved in defense and development. By contrast, feeding by the fall armyworm induced only few transcriptional changes in the roots. In conclusion, feeding by a leaf chewer and a root feeder differentially affects the local and systemic defense of maize plants. Besides revealing clear differences in how maize plants respond to feeding by these specialized herbivores, this study reveals several novel genes that may play key roles in plant-insect interactions and thus sets the stage for in depth research into the mechanism that can be exploited for improved crop protection. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Extensive transcriptomic analyses revealed a clear distinction between the gene expression profiles in maize plants upon shoot and root attack, locally as well as distantly from the attacked tissue. This provides detailed insights into the specificity of orchestrated plant defense responses, and the dataset offers a molecular resource for further genetic studies on maize resistance to herbivores and paves the way for novel strategies to enhance maize resistance to pests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfeng Ye
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of BiologyUniversity of NeuchâtelNeuchâtelSwitzerland
| | - Carlos Bustos‐Segura
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of BiologyUniversity of NeuchâtelNeuchâtelSwitzerland
| | - Thomas Degen
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of BiologyUniversity of NeuchâtelNeuchâtelSwitzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant SciencesUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Ted C. J. Turlings
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of BiologyUniversity of NeuchâtelNeuchâtelSwitzerland
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13
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Förster C, Gershenzon J, Köllner TG. Evolution of DIMBOA-Glc O-Methyltransferases from Flavonoid O-Methyltransferases in the Grasses. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27031007. [PMID: 35164272 PMCID: PMC8839659 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27031007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
O-Methylated benzoxazinoids (BXs) and flavonoids are widespread defenses against herbivores and pathogens in the grasses (Poaceae). Recently, two flavonoid O-methyltransferases (FOMTs), ZmFOMT2 and ZmFOMT3, have been reported to produce phytoalexins in maize (Zea mays). ZmFOMT2 and ZmFOMT3 are closely related to the BX O-methyltransferases (OMTs) ZmBX10-12 and ZmBX14, suggesting a common evolutionary origin in the Poaceae. Here, we studied the evolution and enzymatic requirements of flavonoid and BX O-methylation activities in more detail. Using BLAST searches and phylogenetic analyses, we identified enzymes homologous to ZmFOMT2 and ZmFOMT3, ZmBX10-12, and ZmBX14 in several grasses, with the most closely related candidates found almost exclusively in species of the Panicoideae subfamily. Biochemical characterization of candidate enzymes from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), sugar cane (Saccharum spp.), and teosinte (Zea nicaraguensis) revealed either flavonoid 5-O-methylation activity or DIMBOA-Glc 4-O-methylation activity. However, DIMBOA-Glc 4-OMTs from maize and teosinte also accepted flavonols as substrates and converted them to 3-O-methylated derivatives, suggesting an evolutionary relationship between these two activities. Homology modeling, sequence comparisons, and site-directed mutagenesis led to the identification of active site residues crucial for FOMT and BX OMT activity. However, the full conversion of ZmFOMT2 activity into BX OMT activity by switching these residues was not successful. Only trace O-methylation of BXs was observed, indicating that amino acids outside the active site cavity are also involved in determining the different substrate specificities. Altogether, the results of our study suggest that BX OMTs have evolved from the ubiquitous FOMTs in the PACMAD clade of the grasses through a complex series of amino acid changes.
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14
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Pan Y, Wang Z, Zhao SW, Wang X, Li YS, Liu JN, Wang S, Xi JH. The herbivore-induced plant volatile tetradecane enhances plant resistance to Holotrichia parallela larvae in maize roots. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:550-560. [PMID: 34585511 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many herbivore-induced volatiles have been proven to act as signaling compounds to regulate nearby plant defense responses. However, the precise roles of key volatiles produced by maize roots after Holotrichia parallela larva feeding remain largely unknown. RESULTS We investigated changes in phytohormones and volatiles in maize roots after H. parallela larval infestation. Marked increases in the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) and the volatiles jasmone and tetradecane were induced by herbivores, whereas the salicylic acid content decreased. In addition, pre-exposure to tetradecane markedly increased the levels of the stress hormone JA, its precursors and derivatives, and related gene expression. In addition, pre-exposure altered the production of defensive benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites, resulting in increased plant resistance to H. parallela larvae. Plants pre-exposed to jasmone did not differ from control plants. In addition, bioassays showed that H. parallela larval growth was suppressed by feeding maize roots after pre-exposure to tetradecane. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that tetradecane may function as a potent defense induction signal that prepares neighboring plants for incoming attacks. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Pan
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhun Wang
- Changchun Customs Technology Center, Changchun, China
| | - Shi-Wen Zhao
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Xiao Wang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yun-Shuo Li
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jia-Nan Liu
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Shang Wang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jing-Hui Xi
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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15
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Laschke L, Schütz V, Schackow O, Sicker D, Hennig L, Hofmann D, Dörmann P, Schulz M. Survival of Plants During Short-Term BOA-OH Exposure: ROS Related Gene Expression and Detoxification Reactions Are Accompanied With Fast Membrane Lipid Repair in Root Tips. J Chem Ecol 2022; 48:219-239. [PMID: 34988771 PMCID: PMC8881443 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01337-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
For the characterization of BOA-OH insensitive plants, we studied the time-dependent effects of the benzoxazolinone-4/5/6/7-OH isomers on maize roots. Exposure of Zea mays seedlings to 0.5 mM BOA-OH elicits root zone-specific reactions by the formation of dark rings and spots in the zone of lateral roots, high catalase activity on root hairs, and no visible defense reaction at the root tip. We studied BOA-6-OH- short-term effects on membrane lipids and fatty acids in maize root tips in comparison to the benzoxazinone-free species Abutilon theophrasti Medik. Decreased contents of phosphatidylinositol in A. theophrasti and phosphatidylcholine in maize were found after 10-30 min. In the youngest tissue, α-linoleic acid (18:2), decreased considerably in both species and recovered within one hr. Disturbances in membrane phospholipid contents were balanced in both species within 30-60 min. Triacylglycerols (TAGs) were also affected, but levels of maize diacylglycerols (DAGs) were almost unchanged, suggesting a release of fatty acids for membrane lipid regeneration from TAGs while resulting DAGs are buildings blocks for phospholipid reconstitution, concomitant with BOA-6-OH glucosylation. Expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD2) and of ER-bound oleoyl desaturase (FAD2-2) genes were contemporaneously up regulated in contrast to the catalase CAT1, while CAT3 was arguably involved at a later stage of the detoxification process. Immuno-responses were not elicited in short-terms, since the expression of NPR1, POX12 were barely affected, PR4 after 6 h with BOA-4/7-OH and PR1 after 24 h with BOA-5/6-OH. The rapid membrane recovery, reactive oxygen species, and allelochemical detoxification may be characteristic for BOA-OH insensitive plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Laschke
- IMBIO Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten Str. 13, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Vadim Schütz
- IMBIO Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten Str. 13, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Oliver Schackow
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Institut Für Organische Chemie, Universität Leipzig, Johannisallee 29, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dieter Sicker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Institut Für Organische Chemie, Universität Leipzig, Johannisallee 29, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lothar Hennig
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Institut Für Organische Chemie, Universität Leipzig, Johannisallee 29, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Diana Hofmann
- IBG-3: Agrosphäre, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
| | - Peter Dörmann
- IMBIO Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten Str. 13, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Margot Schulz
- IMBIO Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten Str. 13, 53115, Bonn, Germany.
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16
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Kallure GS, Kumari A, Shinde BA, Giri AP. Characterized constituents of insect herbivore oral secretions and their influence on the regulation of plant defenses. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2022; 193:113008. [PMID: 34768189 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.113008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
For more than 350 million years, there have been ongoing dynamic interactions between plants and insects. In several cases, insects cause-specific feeding damage with ensuing herbivore-associated molecular patterns that invoke characteristic defense responses. During feeding on plant tissue, insects release oral secretions (OSs) containing a repertoire of molecules affecting plant defense (effectors). Some of these OS components might elicit a defense response to combat insect attacks (elicitors), while some might curb the plant defenses (suppressors). Few reports suggest that the synthesis and function of OS components might depend on the host plant and associated microorganisms. We review these intricate plant-insect interactions, during which there is a continuous exchange of molecules between plants and feeding insects along with the associated microorganisms. We further provide a list of commonly identified inducible plant produced defensive molecules released upon insect attack as well as in response to OS treatments of the plants. Thus, we describe how plants specialized and defense-related metabolism is modulated at innumerable phases by OS during plant-insect interactions. A molecular understanding of these complex interactions will provide a means to design eco-friendly crop protection strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gopal S Kallure
- Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, 411 008, Maharashtra, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Archana Kumari
- Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, 411 008, Maharashtra, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Balkrishna A Shinde
- Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, 411 008, Maharashtra, India; Department of Biotechnology, Shivaji University, Vidya Nagar, Kolhapur, 416004, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ashok P Giri
- Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, 411 008, Maharashtra, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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17
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Poretsky E, Ruiz M, Ahmadian N, Steinbrenner AD, Dressano K, Schmelz EA, Huffaker A. Comparative analyses of responses to exogenous and endogenous antiherbivore elicitors enable a forward genetics approach to identify maize gene candidates mediating sensitivity to herbivore-associated molecular patterns. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 108:1295-1316. [PMID: 34564909 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Crop damage by herbivorous insects remains a significant contributor to annual yield reductions. Following attack, maize (Zea mays) responds to herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), activating dynamic direct and indirect antiherbivore defense responses. To define underlying signaling processes, comparative analyses between plant elicitor peptide (Pep) DAMPs and fatty acid-amino acid conjugate (FAC) HAMPs were conducted. RNA sequencing analysis of early transcriptional changes following Pep and FAC treatments revealed quantitative differences in the strength of response yet a high degree of qualitative similarity, providing evidence for shared signaling pathways. In further comparisons of FAC and Pep responses across diverse maize inbred lines, we identified Mo17 as part of a small subset of lines displaying selective FAC insensitivity. Genetic mapping for FAC sensitivity using the intermated B73 × Mo17 population identified a single locus on chromosome 4 associated with FAC sensitivity. Pursuit of multiple fine-mapping approaches further narrowed the locus to 19 candidate genes. The top candidate gene identified, termed FAC SENSITIVITY ASSOCIATED (ZmFACS), encodes a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) that belongs to the same family as a rice (Oryza sativa) receptor gene previously associated with the activation of induced responses to diverse Lepidoptera. Consistent with reduced sensitivity, ZmFACS expression was significantly lower in Mo17 as compared to B73. Transient heterologous expression of ZmFACS in Nicotiana benthamiana resulted in a significantly increased FAC-elicited response. Together, our results provide useful resources for studying early elicitor-induced antiherbivore responses in maize and approaches to discover gene candidates underlying HAMP sensitivity in grain crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elly Poretsky
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Miguel Ruiz
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Nazanin Ahmadian
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | | | - Keini Dressano
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Eric A Schmelz
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Alisa Huffaker
- Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
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18
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Tran TM, Ameye M, Devlieghere F, De Saeger S, Eeckhout M, Audenaert K. Streptomyces Strains Promote Plant Growth and Induce Resistance Against Fusarium verticillioides via Transient Regulation of Auxin Signaling and Archetypal Defense Pathways in Maize Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:755733. [PMID: 34899781 PMCID: PMC8655691 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.755733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Driven by climate change, Fusarium ear rot (FER) caused by Fusarium verticillioides occurs frequently in maize worldwide. In parallel, legislative regulations and increasing environmental awareness have spurred research on alternative FER biocontrol strategies. A promising group of bacterial control agents is Streptomyces species due to their metabolic versatility. However, insights into the molecular modes of action of these biocontrol agents are often lacking. This study aims at unraveling the biocontrol efficacy of Streptomyces rhizobacterial strains against F. verticillioides. We first assessed the direct antagonism of four Streptomyces strains ST02, ST03, ST07, and ST08. Then, a profile of 16 genes associated with intrinsic plant defense signaling was assessed in maize plants. Both in vitro and in vivo data showed that the biocontrol strain ST03 perfectly suppressed the growth of F. verticillioides. High inhibition efficacy was also observed for extracellular compounds in the supernatant secreted by this strain. Especially, for maize cobs, the biocontrol strain ST03 not only inhibited the proliferation of F. verticillioides but also significantly repressed fungal fumonisin production 7 days after inoculation. On maize plants, the direct antagonism was confirmed by a significant reduction of the fungal DNA level in soils when co-applied with F. verticillioides and strain ST03. In terms of its action on plants, strain ST03 induced downregulation of auxin responsive genes (AUX1, ARF1, and ARF2) and gibberellic acid (GA)-related gene AN1 even in the absence of F. verticillioides at early time points. In leaves, the biocontrol strain induced the expression of genes related to salicylic acid (SA), and 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA)-mediated pathways, and pathogenesis-related proteins in the presence or absence of the pathogen. Interestingly, the biocontrol strain significantly promoted plant growth even in the presence of F. verticillioides. All of which demonstrated that the Streptomyces strain ST03 is a promising FER biocontrol and a growth-promoting candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trang Minh Tran
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maarten Ameye
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frank Devlieghere
- Research Unit Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sarah De Saeger
- Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, Department of Bioanalysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Mia Eeckhout
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Research Unit of Cereal and Feed Technology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kris Audenaert
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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19
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Hu L, Wu Z, Robert CAM, Ouyang X, Züst T, Mestrot A, Xu J, Erb M. Soil chemistry determines whether defensive plant secondary metabolites promote or suppress herbivore growth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2109602118. [PMID: 34675080 PMCID: PMC8639379 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109602118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant secondary (or specialized) metabolites mediate important interactions in both the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere. If and how such compartmentalized functions interact to determine plant-environment interactions is not well understood. Here, we investigated how the dual role of maize benzoxazinoids as leaf defenses and root siderophores shapes the interaction between maize and a major global insect pest, the fall armyworm. We find that benzoxazinoids suppress fall armyworm growth when plants are grown in soils with very low available iron but enhance growth in soils with higher available iron. Manipulation experiments confirm that benzoxazinoids suppress herbivore growth under iron-deficient conditions and in the presence of chelated iron but enhance herbivore growth in the presence of free iron in the growth medium. This reversal of the protective effect of benzoxazinoids is not associated with major changes in plant primary metabolism. Plant defense activation is modulated by the interplay between soil iron and benzoxazinoids but does not explain fall armyworm performance. Instead, increased iron supply to the fall armyworm by benzoxazinoids in the presence of free iron enhances larval performance. This work identifies soil chemistry as a decisive factor for the impact of plant secondary metabolites on herbivore growth. It also demonstrates how the multifunctionality of plant secondary metabolites drives interactions between abiotic and biotic factors, with potential consequences for plant resistance in variable environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingfei Hu
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Zhenwei Wu
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | | | - Xiao Ouyang
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Tobias Züst
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Adrien Mestrot
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jianming Xu
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013 Bern, Switzerland;
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20
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Tran TM, Ameye M, Landschoot S, Devlieghere F, De Saeger S, Eeckhout M, Audenaert K. Molecular Insights into Defense Responses of Vietnamese Maize Varieties to Fusarium verticillioides Isolates. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7090724. [PMID: 34575762 PMCID: PMC8469167 DOI: 10.3390/jof7090724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusarium ear rot (FER) caused by Fusarium verticillioides is one of the main fungal diseases in maize worldwide. To develop a pathogen-tailored FER resistant maize line for local implementation, insights into the virulence variability of a residing F. verticillioides population are crucial for developing customized maize varieties, but remain unexplored. Moreover, little information is currently available on the involvement of the archetypal defense pathways in the F. verticillioides-maize interaction using local isolates and germplasm, respectively. Therefore, this study aims to fill these knowledge gaps. We used a collection of 12 F. verticillioides isolates randomly gathered from diseased maize fields in the Vietnamese central highlands. To assess the plant's defense responses against the pathogens, two of the most important maize hybrid genotypes grown in this agro-ecological zone, lines CP888 and Bt/GT NK7328, were used. Based on two assays, a germination and an in-planta assay, we found that line CP888 was more susceptible to the F. verticillioides isolates when compared to line Bt/GT NK7328. Using the most aggressive isolate, we monitored disease severity and gene expression profiles related to biosynthesis pathways of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA), benzoxazinoids (BXs), and pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs). As a result, a stronger induction of SA, JA, ABA, BXs, and PRs synthesizing genes might be linked to the higher resistance of line Bt/GT NK7328 compared to the susceptible line CP888. All these findings could supply valuable knowledge in the selection of suitable FER resistant lines against the local F. verticllioides population and in the development of new FER resistant germplasms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trang Minh Tran
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; (M.A.); (S.L.)
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
- Correspondence: (T.M.T.); (K.A.)
| | - Maarten Ameye
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; (M.A.); (S.L.)
| | - Sofie Landschoot
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; (M.A.); (S.L.)
| | - Frank Devlieghere
- Research Unit Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
| | - Sarah De Saeger
- Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, Department of Bioanalysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
| | - Mia Eeckhout
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
- Research Unit of Cereal and Feed Technology, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kris Audenaert
- Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; (M.A.); (S.L.)
- Correspondence: (T.M.T.); (K.A.)
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21
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Ling X, Gu S, Tian C, Guo H, Degen T, Turlings TCJ, Ge F, Sun Y. Differential Levels of Fatty Acid-Amino Acid Conjugates in the Oral Secretions of Lepidopteran Larvae Account for the Different Profiles of Volatiles. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2021; 77:3970-3979. [PMID: 33866678 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants have evolved sophisticated defense responses to insect herbivore attack, which often involve elicitors in the insects' oral secretions. The major eliciting compounds in insect oral secretions across different species and their potency in inducing volatile emissions have not yet been fully characterized and compared. RESULTS Seven lepidopteran insects with variable duration of association with maize were selected, five species known as pests for a long time (Ostrinia furnacalis, Spodoptera exigua, Spodoptera litura, Mythimna separata, and Helicoverpa armigera) and two newly emerging pests (Athetis lepigone and Athetis dissimilis). Oral secretions of the newly emerging pests have the highest total contents of Fatty Acid-Amino Acid Conjugates (FACs), and their relative composition was well separated from that of the other five species in principal compound analysis. Redundancy analyses suggested that higher quantity of FACs was mainly responsible for the increases in maize volatiles, of which (E)-3,8-dimethyl-1,4,7-nonatriene (DMNT) and (E, E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT) were the most strongly inducible compounds. Adding FACs to the oral secretion of S. litura larvae significantly increased the emissions of TMTT and DMNT, confirming the key role of FACs in inducing volatile emissions in maize plants. Additional experiments with artificial diet spiked with linolenic acid suggested that variation in FACs is due to differences in internal FAC degradation and fatty acid excretion. CONCLUSION Compared with two newly emerging pests A. lepigone and A. dissimilis, the long-term pests could diminish the volatile emission by maize through reducing the FAC content in their oral secretions, which may lower the risk of attracting natural enemies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Ling
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shimin Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Caihong Tian
- Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Huijuan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Degen
- Laboratory for Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (FARCE), University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Ted C J Turlings
- Laboratory for Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (FARCE), University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Feng Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yucheng Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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22
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Wang Z, Zhu W, Chen F, Yue L, Ding Y, Xu H, Rasmann S, Xiao Z. Nanosilicon enhances maize resistance against oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata) by activating the biosynthesis of chemical defenses. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 778:146378. [PMID: 33725595 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Silicon, in its nanoscale form, has shown plant-promoting and insecticidal properties. To date, however, we lack mechanistic evidence for how nanoscale silicon influences the regulation of plant chemical defenses against herbivore attacks. To address this gap, we compared the effect of Si nanodots (NDs) and sodium silicate, a conventional silicate fertilizer, on maize (Zea mays L.) chemical defenses against the oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata, Walker) caterpillars. We found that Si NDs and sodium silicate additions, at the dose of 50 mg/L, significantly inhibited the growth of caterpillars by 53.5% and 34.2%, respectively. This increased plant resistance was associated with a 44.2% increase in the production of chlorogenic acid, as well as the expression of PAL, C4H, 4CL, C3H and HCT, core genes involved in the biosynthesis of chlorogenic acid, by 1.7, 2.4, 1.9, 1.8 and 4.5 folds, respectively. Particularly, in the presence of M. separata, physiological changes in maize plants treated with 50 mg/L Si NDs, including changes in shoot biomass, leaf nutrients (e.g., K, P, Si), and chemical defense compounds (e.g., chlorogenic acid, total phenolics), were higher than those of plants added with equivalent concentrations of conventional silicate fertilizer. Taken together, our findings indicate that Si, in nanoscale form, could replace synthetic pesticides, and be implemented for a more effective and ecologically-sound management of insect pests in maize crop farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyu Wang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wenqing Zhu
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China
| | - Feiran Chen
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China
| | - Le Yue
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ying Ding
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hao Xu
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Sergio Rasmann
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue-Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Zhenggao Xiao
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China.
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23
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Cadot S, Guan H, Bigalke M, Walser JC, Jander G, Erb M, van der Heijden MGA, Schlaeppi K. Specific and conserved patterns of microbiota-structuring by maize benzoxazinoids in the field. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:103. [PMID: 33962687 DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.03.075135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants influence their root and rhizosphere microbial communities through the secretion of root exudates. However, how specific classes of root exudate compounds impact the assembly of root-associated microbiotas is not well understood, especially not under realistic field conditions. Maize roots secrete benzoxazinoids (BXs), a class of indole-derived defense compounds, and thereby impact the assembly of their microbiota. Here, we investigated the broader impacts of BX exudation on root and rhizosphere microbiotas of adult maize plants grown under natural conditions at different field locations in Europe and the USA. We examined the microbiotas of BX-producing and multiple BX-defective lines in two genetic backgrounds across three soils with different properties. RESULTS Our analysis showed that BX secretion affected the community composition of the rhizosphere and root microbiota, with the most pronounced effects observed for root fungi. The impact of BX exudation was at least as strong as the genetic background, suggesting that BX exudation is a key trait by which maize structures its associated microbiota. BX-producing plants were not consistently enriching microbial lineages across the three field experiments. However, BX exudation consistently depleted Flavobacteriaceae and Comamonadaceae and enriched various potential plant pathogenic fungi in the roots across the different environments. CONCLUSIONS These findings reveal that BXs have a selective impact on root and rhizosphere microbiota composition across different conditions. Taken together, this study identifies the BX pathway as an interesting breeding target to manipulate plant-microbiome interactions. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selma Cadot
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hang Guan
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Moritz Bigalke
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marcel G A van der Heijden
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Klaus Schlaeppi
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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24
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Cadot S, Guan H, Bigalke M, Walser JC, Jander G, Erb M, van der Heijden MGA, Schlaeppi K. Specific and conserved patterns of microbiota-structuring by maize benzoxazinoids in the field. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:103. [PMID: 33962687 PMCID: PMC8106187 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01049-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants influence their root and rhizosphere microbial communities through the secretion of root exudates. However, how specific classes of root exudate compounds impact the assembly of root-associated microbiotas is not well understood, especially not under realistic field conditions. Maize roots secrete benzoxazinoids (BXs), a class of indole-derived defense compounds, and thereby impact the assembly of their microbiota. Here, we investigated the broader impacts of BX exudation on root and rhizosphere microbiotas of adult maize plants grown under natural conditions at different field locations in Europe and the USA. We examined the microbiotas of BX-producing and multiple BX-defective lines in two genetic backgrounds across three soils with different properties. RESULTS Our analysis showed that BX secretion affected the community composition of the rhizosphere and root microbiota, with the most pronounced effects observed for root fungi. The impact of BX exudation was at least as strong as the genetic background, suggesting that BX exudation is a key trait by which maize structures its associated microbiota. BX-producing plants were not consistently enriching microbial lineages across the three field experiments. However, BX exudation consistently depleted Flavobacteriaceae and Comamonadaceae and enriched various potential plant pathogenic fungi in the roots across the different environments. CONCLUSIONS These findings reveal that BXs have a selective impact on root and rhizosphere microbiota composition across different conditions. Taken together, this study identifies the BX pathway as an interesting breeding target to manipulate plant-microbiome interactions. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selma Cadot
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hang Guan
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Moritz Bigalke
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marcel G A van der Heijden
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Klaus Schlaeppi
- Division of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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25
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Malook SU, Xu Y, Qi J, Li J, Wang L, Wu J. Mythimna separata herbivory primes maize resistance in systemic leaves. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:3792-3805. [PMID: 33647931 PMCID: PMC8096606 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Biotic and abiotic cues can trigger priming in plants, which enables plants to respond to subsequent challenge with stronger and/or faster responses. It is well known that herbivory activates defense-related responses in systemic leaves. However, little is known about whether insect feeding activates priming in systemic leaves. To determine whether and how herbivory induces priming in maize systemic leaves, a combination of insect bioassays, phytohormone and defense metabolite quantification, and genetic and transcriptome analyses were performed. Actual and simulated Mythimna separata herbivory in maize local leaves primed the systemic leaves for enhanced accumulation of jasmonic acid and benzoxazinoids and increased resistance to M. separata. Activation of priming in maize systemic leaves depends on both the duration of simulated herbivory and perception of M. separata oral secretions in the local leaves, and genetic analysis indicated that jasmonic acid and benzoxazinoids mediate the primed defenses in systemic leaves. Consistently, in response to simulated herbivory, the primed systemic leaves exhibited a large number of genes that were uniquely regulated or showed further up- or down-regulation compared with the non-primed systemic leaves. This study provides new insight into the regulation and ecological function of priming in maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saif ul Malook
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Yuxing Xu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jinfeng Qi
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jianqiang Wu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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26
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Richter A, Powell AF, Mirzaei M, Wang LJ, Movahed N, Miller JK, Piñeros MA, Jander G. Indole-3-glycerolphosphate synthase, a branchpoint for the biosynthesis of tryptophan, indole, and benzoxazinoids in maize. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 106:245-257. [PMID: 33458870 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The maize (Zea mays) genome encodes three indole-3-glycerolphosphate synthase enzymes (IGPS1, 2, and 3) catalyzing the conversion of 1-(2-carboxyphenylamino)-l-deoxyribulose-5-phosphate to indole-3-glycerolphosphate. Three further maize enzymes (BX1, benzoxazinoneless 1; TSA, tryptophan synthase alpha subunit; and IGL, indole glycerolphosphate lyase) convert indole-3-glycerolphosphate to indole, which is released as a volatile defense signaling compound and also serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of tryptophan and defense-related benzoxazinoids. Phylogenetic analyses showed that IGPS2 is similar to enzymes found in both monocots and dicots, whereas maize IGPS1 and IGPS3 are in monocot-specific clades. Fusions of yellow fluorescent protein with maize IGPS enzymes and indole-3-glycerolphosphate lyases were all localized in chloroplasts. In bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, IGPS1 interacted strongly with BX1 and IGL, IGPS2 interacted primarily with TSA, and IGPS3 interacted equally with all three indole-3-glycerolphosphate lyases. Whereas IGPS1 and IGPS3 expression was induced by insect feeding, IGPS2 expression was not. Transposon insertions in IGPS1 and IGPS3 reduced the abundance of both benzoxazinoids and free indole. Spodoptera exigua (beet armyworm) larvae show improved growth on igps1 mutant maize plants. Together, these results suggest that IGPS1 and IGPS3 function mainly in the biosynthesis of defensive metabolites, whereas IGPS2 may be involved in the biosynthesis of tryptophan. This metabolic channeling is similar to, though less exclusive than, that proposed for the three maize indole-3-glycerolphosphate lyases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Julia K Miller
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Miguel A Piñeros
- Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, USDA-ARS, Ithaca, NY, USA
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The plant metabolome guides fitness-relevant foraging decisions of a specialist herbivore. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001114. [PMID: 33600420 PMCID: PMC7924754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants produce complex mixtures of primary and secondary metabolites. Herbivores use these metabolites as behavioral cues to increase their fitness. However, how herbivores combine and integrate different metabolite classes into fitness-relevant foraging decisions in planta is poorly understood. We developed a molecular manipulative approach to modulate the availability of sugars and benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites as foraging cues for a specialist maize herbivore, the western corn rootworm. By disrupting sugar perception in the western corn rootworm and benzoxazinoid production in maize, we show that sugars and benzoxazinoids act as distinct and dynamically combined mediators of short-distance host finding and acceptance. While sugars improve the capacity of rootworm larvae to find a host plant and to distinguish postembryonic from less nutritious embryonic roots, benzoxazinoids are specifically required for the latter. Host acceptance in the form of root damage is increased by benzoxazinoids and sugars in an additive manner. This pattern is driven by increasing damage to postembryonic roots in the presence of benzoxazinoids and sugars. Benzoxazinoid- and sugar-mediated foraging directly improves western corn rootworm growth and survival. Interestingly, western corn rootworm larvae retain a substantial fraction of their capacity to feed and survive on maize plants even when both classes of chemical cues are almost completely absent. This study unravels fine-grained differentiation and combination of primary and secondary metabolites into herbivore foraging and documents how the capacity to compensate for the lack of important chemical cues enables a specialist herbivore to survive within unpredictable metabolic landscapes.
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28
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Bruno P, Machado RAR, Glauser G, Köhler A, Campos-Herrera R, Bernal J, Toepfer S, Erb M, Robert CAM, Arce CCM, Turlings TCJ. Entomopathogenic nematodes from Mexico that can overcome the resistance mechanisms of the western corn rootworm. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8257. [PMID: 32427834 PMCID: PMC7237494 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64945-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural enemies of herbivores are expected to adapt to the defence strategies of their preys or hosts. Such adaptations may also include their capacity to cope with plant metabolites that herbivores sequester as a defence. In this study, we evaluated the ability of Mexican entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) to resist benzoxazinoids that are sequestered from maize roots by the western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), an important maize pest in America and Europe. From maize fields throughout Mexico, we retrieved 40 EPN isolates belonging to five different species, with a majority identified as Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. In the laboratory, all nematodes readily infected non-sequestering larvae of the banded cucumber beetle (D. balteata), while infectivity varied strongly for WCR larvae. While some H. bacteriophora isolates seemed negatively affected by benzoxazinoids, most showed to be resistant. Thus, EPN from Mexican maize fields can cope with these plant defence metabolites, but the results also indicate that WCR larvae possess other mechanisms that help to resist EPN. This work contributes to a better understanding of the capacity of herbivore natural enemies to resist plant defence metabolites. Furthermore, it identifies several benzoxazinoid-resistant EPN isolates that may be used to control this important maize pest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Bruno
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | | | - Gaétan Glauser
- Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Angela Köhler
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Raquel Campos-Herrera
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (Universidad de La Rioja, CSIC, Gobierno de La Rioja), Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
| | - Julio Bernal
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, Texas, USA
| | - Stefan Toepfer
- CABI, c/o Plant Protection and Soil Conservation Directorate, Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Carla C M Arce
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - Ted C J Turlings
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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Engineering bacterial symbionts of nematodes improves their biocontrol potential to counter the western corn rootworm. Nat Biotechnol 2020; 38:600-608. [PMID: 32066956 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-020-0419-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The western corn rootworm (WCR) decimates maize crops worldwide. One potential way to control this pest is treatment with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) that harbor bacterial symbionts that are pathogenic to insects. However, WCR larvae sequester benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites that are produced by maize and use them to increase their resistance to the nematodes and their symbionts. Here we report that experimental evolution and selection for bacterial symbionts that are resistant to benzoxazinoids improve the ability of a nematode-symbiont pair to kill WCR larvae. We isolated five Photorhabdus symbionts from different nematodes and increased their benzoxazinoid resistance through experimental evolution. Benzoxazinoid resistance evolved through multiple mechanisms, including a mutation in the aquaporin-like channel gene aqpZ. We reintroduced benzoxazinoid-resistant Photorhabdus strains into their original EPN hosts and identified one nematode-symbiont pair that was able to kill benzoxazinoid-sequestering WCR larvae more efficiently. Our results suggest that modification of bacterial symbionts might provide a generalizable strategy to improve biocontrol of agricultural pests.
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Abstract
Certain adapted insect herbivores utilize plant toxins for self-defense against their own enemies. These adaptations structure ecosystems and limit our capacity to use biological control agents to manage specialized agricultural pests. We show that entomopathogenic nematodes that are exposed to the western corn rootworm, an important agricultural pest that sequesters defense metabolites from maize, can evolve resistance to these defenses. Resisting the plant defense metabolites likely allows the nematodes to infect and kill the western corn rootworm more efficiently. These findings illustrate how predators can counter the plant-based resistance strategies of specialized insect herbivores. Breeding or engineering biological control agents that resist plant defense metabolites may improve their capacity to kill important agricultural pests such as the western corn rootworm. Plants defend themselves against herbivores through the production of toxic and deterrent metabolites. Adapted herbivores can tolerate and sometimes sequester these metabolites, allowing them to feed on defended plants and become toxic to their own enemies. Can herbivore natural enemies overcome sequestered plant defense metabolites to prey on adapted herbivores? To address this question, we studied how entomopathogenic nematodes cope with benzoxazinoid defense metabolites that are produced by grasses and sequestered by a specialist maize herbivore, the western corn rootworm. We find that nematodes from US maize fields in regions in which the western corn rootworm was present over the last 50 y are behaviorally and metabolically resistant to sequestered benzoxazinoids and more infective toward the western corn rootworm than nematodes from other parts of the world. Exposure of a benzoxazinoid-susceptible nematode strain to the western corn rootworm for 5 generations results in higher behavioral and metabolic resistance and benzoxazinoid-dependent infectivity toward the western corn rootworm. Thus, herbivores that are exposed to a plant defense sequestering herbivore can evolve both behavioral and metabolic resistance to plant defense metabolites, and these traits are associated with higher infectivity toward a defense sequestering herbivore. We conclude that plant defense metabolites that are transferred through adapted herbivores may result in the evolution of resistance in herbivore natural enemies. Our study also identifies plant defense resistance as a potential target for the improvement of biological control agents.
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Pan Y, Zhao SW, Tang XL, Wang S, Wang X, Zhang XX, Zhou JJ, Xi JH. Transcriptome analysis of maize reveals potential key genes involved in the response to belowground herbivore Holotrichia parallela larvae feeding. Genome 2019; 63:1-12. [PMID: 31533014 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2019-0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The larvae of Holotrichia parallela, a destructive belowground herbivore, causes tremendous damages to maize plants. However, little is known if there are any defense mechanisms in maize roots to defend themselves against this herbivore. In the current research, we carried out RNA-sequencing to investigate the changes in gene transcription level in maize roots after H. parallela larvae infestation. A total of 644 up-regulated genes and 474 down-regulated genes was found. In addition, Gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) indicated that peroxidase genes may be the hub genes that regulate maize defenses to H. parallela larvae attack. We also found 105 transcription factors, 44 hormone-related genes, and 62 secondary metabolism-related genes within differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Furthermore, the expression profiles of 12 DEGs from the transcriptome analysis were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR experiments. This transcriptome analysis provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of the underground defense in maize roots to H. parallela larvae attack and will help to select target genes of maize for defense against belowground herbivory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Pan
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Shi-Wen Zhao
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Xin-Long Tang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Shang Wang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Xiao Wang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Xin-Xin Zhang
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Jing-Jiang Zhou
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
| | - Jing-Hui Xi
- College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China.,College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, P.R. China
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32
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Wilkinson SW, Magerøy MH, López Sánchez A, Smith LM, Furci L, Cotton TEA, Krokene P, Ton J. Surviving in a Hostile World: Plant Strategies to Resist Pests and Diseases. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2019; 57:505-529. [PMID: 31470772 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-082718-095959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
As primary producers, plants are under constant pressure to defend themselves against potentially deadly pathogens and herbivores. In this review, we describe short- and long-term strategies that enable plants to cope with these stresses. Apart from internal immunological strategies that involve physiological and (epi)genetic modifications at the cellular level, plants also employ external strategies that rely on recruitment of beneficial organisms. We discuss these strategies along a gradient of increasing timescales, ranging from rapid immune responses that are initiated within seconds to (epi)genetic adaptations that occur over multiple plant generations. We cover the latest insights into the mechanistic and evolutionary underpinnings of these strategies and present explanatory models. Finally, we discuss how knowledge from short-lived model species can be translated to economically and ecologically important perennials to exploit adaptive plant strategies and mitigate future impacts of pests and diseases in an increasingly interconnected and changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel W Wilkinson
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Division for Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Melissa H Magerøy
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Division for Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Ana López Sánchez
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
- Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Campus de Cantoblanco, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lisa M Smith
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
| | - Leonardo Furci
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
| | - T E Anne Cotton
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
| | - Paal Krokene
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Division for Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Jurriaan Ton
- Plant Production and Protection Institute and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom;
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Abstract
Diverse molecular processes regulate the interactions between plants and insect herbivores. Here, we review genes and proteins that are involved in plant-herbivore interactions and discuss how their discovery has structured the current standard model of plant-herbivore interactions. Plants perceive damage-associated and, possibly, herbivore-associated molecular patterns via receptors that activate early signaling components such as Ca2+, reactive oxygen species, and MAP kinases. Specific defense reprogramming proceeds via signaling networks that include phytohormones, secondary metabolites, and transcription factors. Local and systemic regulation of toxins, defense proteins, physical barriers, and tolerance traits protect plants against herbivores. Herbivores counteract plant defenses through biochemical defense deactivation, effector-mediated suppression of defense signaling, and chemically controlled behavioral changes. The molecular basis of plant-herbivore interactions is now well established for model systems. Expanding molecular approaches to unexplored dimensions of plant-insect interactions should be a future priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Philippe Reymond
- Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
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Malook SU, Qi J, Hettenhausen C, Xu Y, Zhang C, Zhang J, Lu C, Li J, Wang L, Wu J. The oriental armyworm ( Mythimna separata) feeding induces systemic defence responses within and between maize leaves. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180307. [PMID: 30967023 PMCID: PMC6367157 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maize ( Zea mays) is a staple cereal crop cultivated all over the world but that is threatened by various insects. Feeding of the lepidopteran insect Mythimna separata triggers defence signalling and increases anti-herbivore benzoxazinoids (Bxs) in the insect-damaged maize leaves. However, the herbivory-elicited within-leaf and leaf-to-leaf systemic signalling in maize remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that simulated M. separata herbivory and mechanical wounding elicited increased levels of jasmonic acid (JA), JA-Ile (JA-isoleucine conjugate) and Bxs in the damaged areas and in specific systemic regions within a leaf. Importantly, increased contents of Bxs were detected in a systemic leaf, and consistently, this leaf exhibited increased defence against M. separata. Increased JA/JA-Ile and altered transcriptome, including Bx biosynthesis genes, were detected in systemic leaves after wounding or simulated herbivory treatments, although only simulated herbivory induced increase of the contents of Bxs systemically. Promoter and co-expression analysis revealed that transcription factors bHLH57 and WRKY34 may regulate Bx biosynthesis genes in systemic leaves. Moreover, leaf ablation experiment indicated that the systemic signal rapidly exited the local leaves within 30 min after elicitation. This study provides new insight into the temporal and spatial regulation of defence responses of maize against lepidopteran insects. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biotic signalling sheds light on smart pest management'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saif ul Malook
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinfeng Qi
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Christian Hettenhausen
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuxing Xu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Cuiping Zhang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingxiong Zhang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengkai Lu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianqiang Wu
- Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China
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Ye J, Zhong T, Zhang D, Ma C, Wang L, Yao L, Zhang Q, Zhu M, Xu M. The Auxin-Regulated Protein ZmAuxRP1 Coordinates the Balance between Root Growth and Stalk Rot Disease Resistance in Maize. MOLECULAR PLANT 2019; 12:360-373. [PMID: 30853061 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
To optimize fitness, plants must efficiently allocate their resources between growth and defense. Although phytohormone crosstalk has emerged as a major player in balancing growth and defense, the genetic basis by which plants manage this balance remains elusive. We previously identified a quantitative disease-resistance locus, qRfg2, in maize (Zea mays) that protects against the fungal disease Gibberella stalk rot. Here, through map-based cloning, we demonstrate that the causal gene at qRfg2 is ZmAuxRP1, which encodes a plastid stroma-localized auxin-regulated protein. ZmAuxRP1 responded quickly to pathogen challenge with a rapid yet transient reduction in expression that led to arrested root growth but enhanced resistance to Gibberella stalk rot and Fusarium ear rot. ZmAuxRP1 was shown to promote the biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), while suppressing the formation of benzoxazinoid defense compounds. ZmAuxRP1 presumably acts as a resource regulator modulating indole-3-glycerol phosphate and/or indole flux at the branch point between the IAA and benzoxazinoid biosynthetic pathways. The concerted interplay between IAA and benzoxazinoids can regulate the growth-defense balance in a timely and efficient manner to optimize plant fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianrong Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Tao Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Dongfeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Chuanyu Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Lina Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Lishan Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Mang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China
| | - Mingliang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry/National Maize Improvement Center/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology/Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193, P. R. China.
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Guo J, Qi J, He K, Wu J, Bai S, Zhang T, Zhao J, Wang Z. The Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis feeding increases the direct and indirect defence of mid-whorl stage commercial maize in the field. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2019; 17:88-102. [PMID: 29754404 PMCID: PMC6330542 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 05/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée) is a destructive pest of maize (Zea mays L.). Despite large-scale commercial maize production, little is known about the defensive responses of field-grown commercial maize to O. furnacalis herbivory, and how these responses result in direct and indirect defence against this pest. To elucidate the maize transcriptome response to O. furnacalis feeding, leaves of maize hybrid Jingke968 were infested with O. furnacalis for 0, 2, 4, 12 and 24 h. Ostrinia furnacalis feeding elicited stronger and more rapid changes in the defence-related gene expression (i.e. after 2 h), and more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were up-regulated than down-regulated at all times post-induction (i.e. 2, 4, 12 and 24 h) in the O. furnacalis pre-infested maize plants. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that the DEGs in the O. furnacalis pre-infested maize are involved in benzoxazinoids, phytohormones, volatiles, and other metabolic pathways related to maize resistance to herbivores. In addition, the maize leaves previously infested by O. furnacalis for 24 h showed an obvious inhibition of the subsequent O. furnacalis performance, and maize volatiles induced by O. furnacalis feeding for 24 and 48 h attracted the parasitic wasp, Macrocentrus cingulum Brischke. The increased direct and indirect defences induced by O. furnacalis feeding were correlated with O. furnacalis-induced phytohormones, benzoxazinoids, and volatiles. Together, our findings provide new insights into how commercial maize orchestrates its transcriptome and metabolome to directly and indirectly defend against O. furnacalis at the mid-whorl stage in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingfei Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect PestsMOA – CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio‐safetyInstitute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jinfeng Qi
- Department of Economic Plants and BiotechnologyYunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant ResourcesKunming Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Kanglai He
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect PestsMOA – CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio‐safetyInstitute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jianqiang Wu
- Department of Economic Plants and BiotechnologyYunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant ResourcesKunming Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Shuxiong Bai
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect PestsMOA – CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio‐safetyInstitute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Tiantao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect PestsMOA – CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio‐safetyInstitute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jiuran Zhao
- Maize Research CenterBeijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Zhenying Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect PestsMOA – CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio‐safetyInstitute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijingChina
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Yang P, Praz C, Li B, Singla J, Robert CAM, Kessel B, Scheuermann D, Lüthi L, Ouzunova M, Erb M, Krattinger SG, Keller B. Fungal resistance mediated by maize wall-associated kinase ZmWAK-RLK1 correlates with reduced benzoxazinoid content. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 221:976-987. [PMID: 30178602 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Wall-associated kinases (WAKs) have recently been identified as major components of fungal and bacterial disease resistance in several cereal crop species. However, the molecular mechanisms of WAK-mediated resistance remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the function of the maize gene ZmWAK-RLK1 (Htn1) that confers quantitative resistance to northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) caused by the hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen Exserohilum turcicum. ZmWAK-RLK1 was found to localize to the plasma membrane and its presence resulted in a modification of the infection process by reducing pathogen penetration into host tissues. A large-scale transcriptome analysis of near-isogenic lines (NILs) differing for ZmWAK-RLK1 revealed that several differentially expressed genes are involved in the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolites benzoxazinoids (BXs). The contents of several BXs including DIM2 BOA-Glc were significantly lower when ZmWAK-RLK1 is present. DIM2 BOA-Glc concentration was significantly elevated in ZmWAK-RLK1 mutants with compromised NCLB resistance. Maize mutants that were affected in overall BXs biosynthesis or content of DIM2 BOA-Glc showed increased NCLB resistance. We conclude that Htn1-mediated NCLB resistance is associated with a reduction of BX secondary metabolites. These findings suggest a link between WAK-mediated quantitative disease resistance and changes in biochemical fluxes starting with indole-3-glycerol phosphate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Yang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081, Beijing, China
| | - Coraline Praz
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beibei Li
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jyoti Singla
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Linda Lüthi
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Simon G Krattinger
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Beat Keller
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland
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Shavit R, Batyrshina ZS, Dotan N, Tzin V. Cereal aphids differently affect benzoxazinoid levels in durum wheat. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208103. [PMID: 30507950 PMCID: PMC6277073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Aphids are major pests in cereal crops that cause direct and indirect damage leading to yield reduction. Despite the fact that wheat provides 20% of the world’s caloric and protein diet, its metabolic responses to aphid attack, in general, and specifically its production of benzoxazinoid defense compounds are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to compare the metabolic diversity of durum wheat seedlings (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) under attack by three different cereal aphids: i) the English grain aphid (Sitobion avenae Fabricius), ii) the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi L.), and iii) the greenbug aphid (Schizaphis graminum Rondani), which are some of the most destructive aphid species to wheat. Insect progeny bioassays and metabolic analyses using chromatography/Q-Exactive/mass spectrometry non-targeted metabolomics and a targeted benzoxazinoid profile were performed on infested leaves. The insect bioassays revealed that the plants were susceptible to S. graminum, resistant to S. avenae, and mildly resistant to R. padi. The metabolic analyses of benzoxazinoids suggested that the predominant metabolites DIMBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin- 3-one) and its glycosylated form DIMBOA-glucoside (Glc) were significantly induced upon both S. avenae, and R. padi aphid feeding. However, the levels of the benzoxazinoid metabolite HDMBOA-Glc (2-hydroxy-4,7-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one glucoside) were enhanced due to the feeding of S. avenae and S. graminum aphids, to which Svevo was the most resistant and the most susceptible, respectively. The results showed a partial correlation between the induction of benzoxazinoids and aphid reproduction. Overall, our observations revealed diverse metabolic responses of wheat seedlings to cereal aphid feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Shavit
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
| | - Zhaniya S. Batyrshina
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
| | - Nitsan Dotan
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
| | - Vered Tzin
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- * E-mail:
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Li B, Förster C, Robert CAM, Züst T, Hu L, Machado RAR, Berset JD, Handrick V, Knauer T, Hensel G, Chen W, Kumlehn J, Yang P, Keller B, Gershenzon J, Jander G, Köllner TG, Erb M. Convergent evolution of a metabolic switch between aphid and caterpillar resistance in cereals. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaat6797. [PMID: 30525102 PMCID: PMC6281429 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat6797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Tailoring defense responses to different attackers is important for plant performance. Plants can use secondary metabolites with dual functions in resistance and defense signaling to mount herbivore-specific responses. To date, the specificity and evolution of this mechanism are unclear. Here, we studied the functional architecture, specificity, and genetic basis of defense regulation by benzoxazinoids in cereals. We document that DIMBOA-Glc induces callose as an aphid resistance factor in wheat. O-methylation of DIMBOA-Glc to HDMBOA-Glc increases plant resistance to caterpillars but reduces callose inducibility and resistance to aphids. DIMBOA-Glc induces callose in wheat and maize, but not in Arabidopsis, while the glucosinolate 4MO-I3M does the opposite. We identify a wheat O-methyltransferase (TaBX10) that is induced by caterpillar feeding and converts DIMBOA-Glc to HDMBOA-Glc in vitro. While the core pathway of benzoxazinoid biosynthesis is conserved between wheat and maize, the wheat genome does not contain close homologs of the maize DIMBOA-Glc O-methyltransferase genes, and TaBx10 is only distantly related. Thus, the functional architecture of herbivore-specific defense regulation is similar in maize and wheat, but the regulating biosynthetic genes likely evolved separately. This study shows how two different cereal species independently achieved herbivore-specific defense activation by regulating secondary metabolite production.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Li
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - C. Förster
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - C. A. M. Robert
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - T. Züst
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - L. Hu
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - R. A. R. Machado
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - J.-D. Berset
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - V. Handrick
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - T. Knauer
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - G. Hensel
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - W. Chen
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - J. Kumlehn
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany
| | - P. Yang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - B. Keller
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - J. Gershenzon
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - G. Jander
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - T. G. Köllner
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - M. Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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40
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Bui H, Greenhalgh R, Ruckert A, Gill GS, Lee S, Ramirez RA, Clark RM. Generalist and Specialist Mite Herbivores Induce Similar Defense Responses in Maize and Barley but Differ in Susceptibility to Benzoxazinoids. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:1222. [PMID: 30186298 PMCID: PMC6110934 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
While substantial progress has been made in understanding defense responses of cereals to insect herbivores, comparatively little is known about responses to feeding by spider mites. Nevertheless, several spider mite species, including the generalist Tetranychus urticae and the grass specialist Oligonychus pratensis, cause damage on cereals such as maize and wheat, especially during drought stress. To understand defense responses of cereals to spider mites, we characterized the transcriptomic responses of maize and barley to herbivory by both mite species, and included a wounding control against which modulation of defenses could be tested. T. urticae and O. pratensis induced highly correlated changes in gene expression on both maize and barley. Within 2 h, hundreds of genes were upregulated, and thousands of genes were up- or downregulated after 24 h. In general, expression changes were similar to those induced by wounding, including for genes associated with jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling. Many genes encoding proteins involved in direct defenses, or those required for herbivore-induced plant volatiles, were strongly upregulated in response to mite herbivory. Further, biosynthesis genes for benzoxazinoids, which are specialized compounds of Poaceae with known roles in deterring insect herbivores, were induced in maize. Compared to chewing insects, spider mites are cell content feeders and cause grossly different patterns of tissue damage. Nonetheless, the gene expression responses of maize to both mite herbivores, including for phytohormone signaling pathways and for the synthesis of the benzoxazinoid 2-hydroxy-4,7-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one glucoside, a known defensive metabolite against caterpillars, resembled those reported for a generalist chewing insect, Spodoptera exigua. On maize plants harboring mutations in several benzoxazinoid biosynthesis genes, T. urticae performance dramatically increased compared to wild-type plants. In contrast, no difference in performance was observed between mutant and wild-type plants for the specialist O. pratensis. Collectively, our data provide little evidence that maize and barley defense responses differentiate herbivory between T. urticae and O. pratensis. Further, our work suggests that the likely route to specialization for O. pratensis involved the evolution of a robust mechanism to cope with the benzoxazinoid defenses of its cereal hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huyen Bui
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Robert Greenhalgh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Alice Ruckert
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | | | - Sarah Lee
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | | | - Richard M. Clark
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
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41
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Hu L, Mateo P, Ye M, Zhang X, Berset JD, Handrick V, Radisch D, Grabe V, Köllner TG, Gershenzon J, Robert CAM, Erb M. Plant iron acquisition strategy exploited by an insect herbivore. Science 2018; 361:694-697. [PMID: 30115808 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat4082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Insect herbivores depend on their host plants to acquire macro- and micronutrients. Here we asked how a specialist herbivore and damaging maize pest, the western corn rootworm, finds and accesses plant-derived micronutrients. We show that the root-feeding larvae use complexes between iron and benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites to identify maize as a host, to forage within the maize root system, and to increase their growth. Maize plants use these same benzoxazinoids for protection against generalist herbivores and, as shown here, for iron uptake. We identify an iron transporter that allows the corn rootworm to benefit from complexes between iron and benzoxazinoids. Thus, foraging for an essential plant-derived complex between a micronutrient and a secondary metabolite shapes the interaction between maize and a specialist herbivore.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Hu
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - P Mateo
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland.,Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - M Ye
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - X Zhang
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - J D Berset
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - V Handrick
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - D Radisch
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - V Grabe
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - T G Köllner
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - J Gershenzon
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - C A M Robert
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland.
| | - M Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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42
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Plant Protection by Benzoxazinoids—Recent Insights into Biosynthesis and Function. AGRONOMY-BASEL 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/agronomy8080143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Benzoxazinoids (BXs) are secondary metabolites present in many Poaceae including the major crops maize, wheat, and rye. In contrast to other potentially toxic secondary metabolites, BXs have not been targets of counter selection during breeding and the effect of BXs on insects, microbes, and neighbouring plants has been recognised. A broad knowledge about the mode of action and metabolisation in target organisms including herbivorous insects, aphids, and plants has been gathered in the last decades. BX biosynthesis has been elucidated on a molecular level in crop cereals. Recent advances, mainly made by investigations in maize, uncovered a significant diversity in the composition of BXs within one species. The pattern can be specific for single plant lines and dynamic changes triggered by biotic and abiotic stresses were observed. Single BXs might be toxic, repelling, attractive, and even growth-promoting for insects, depending on the particular species. BXs delivered into the soil influence plant and microbial communities. Furthermore, BXs can possibly be used as signalling molecules within the plant. In this review we intend to give an overview of the current data on the biosynthesis, structure, and function of BXs, beyond their characterisation as mere phytotoxins.
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43
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Zhou S, Richter A, Jander G. Beyond Defense: Multiple Functions of Benzoxazinoids in Maize Metabolism. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 59:1528-1537. [PMID: 29584935 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcy064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Benzoxazinoids are a class of indole-derived plant metabolites that function in defense against numerous pests and pathogens. Due to their abundance in maize (Zea mays) and other important cereal crops, benzoxazinoids have been the subject of extensive research for >50 years. Whereas benzoxazinoids can account for 1% or more of the dry weight in young seedlings constitutively, their accumulation in older plants is induced locally by pest and pathogen attack. Although the biosynthetic pathways for most maize benzoxazinoids have been identified, unanswered questions remain about the developmental and defense-induced regulation of benzoxazinoid metabolism. Recent research shows that, in addition to their central role in the maize chemical defense repertoire, benzoxazinoids may have important functions in regulating other defense responses, flowering time, auxin metabolism, iron uptake and perhaps aluminum tolerance. Investigation of natural variation in maize benzoxazinoid accumulation, which is greatly facilitated by recent genomics advances, will have a major impact in this research area by leading to the discovery of previously unknown genes and functions of benzoxazinoid metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoqun Zhou
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrated Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Annett Richter
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Georg Jander
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
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44
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Root exudate metabolites drive plant-soil feedbacks on growth and defense by shaping the rhizosphere microbiota. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2738. [PMID: 30013066 PMCID: PMC6048113 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05122-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 543] [Impact Index Per Article: 90.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
By changing soil properties, plants can modify their growth environment. Although the soil microbiota is known to play a key role in the resulting plant-soil feedbacks, the proximal mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unknown. We found that benzoxazinoids, a class of defensive secondary metabolites that are released by roots of cereals such as wheat and maize, alter root-associated fungal and bacterial communities, decrease plant growth, increase jasmonate signaling and plant defenses, and suppress herbivore performance in the next plant generation. Complementation experiments demonstrate that the benzoxazinoid breakdown product 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one (MBOA), which accumulates in the soil during the conditioning phase, is both sufficient and necessary to trigger the observed phenotypic changes. Sterilization, fungal and bacterial profiling and complementation experiments reveal that MBOA acts indirectly by altering root-associated microbiota. Our results reveal a mechanism by which plants determine the composition of rhizosphere microbiota, plant performance and plant-herbivore interactions of the next generation. Plants can modify soil microbiota through root exudation, but how this process influences plant health in turn is often unclear. Here, Hu et al. show that maize benzoxazinoids released into the soil modify root-associated microbiota and thereby increase leaf defenses of the next plant generation.
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45
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Guyer A, Hibbard BE, Holzkämper A, Erb M, Robert CAM. Influence of drought on plant performance through changes in belowground tritrophic interactions. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:6756-6765. [PMID: 30038772 PMCID: PMC6053580 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is predicted to increase the risk of drought in many temperate agroecosystems. While the impact of drought on aboveground plant-herbivore-natural enemy interactions has been studied, little is known about its effects on belowground tritrophic interactions and root defense chemistry. We investigated the effects of low soil moisture on the interaction between maize, the western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera), and soil-borne natural enemies of WCR. In a manipulative field experiment, reduced soil moisture and WCR attack reduced plant performance and increased benzoxazinoid levels. The negative effects of WCR on cob dry weight and silk emergence were strongest at low moisture levels. Inoculation with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) was ineffective in controlling WCR, and the EPNs died rapidly in the warm and dry soil. However, ants of the species Solenopsis molesta invaded the experiment, were more abundant in WCR-infested pots and predated WCR independently of soil moisture. Ant presence increased root and shoot biomass and was associated with attenuated moisture-dependent effects of WCR on maize cob weight. Our study suggests that apart from directly reducing plant performance, drought can also increase the negative effects of root herbivores such as WCR. It furthermore identifies S. molesta as a natural enemy of WCR that can protect maize plants from the negative impact of herbivory under drought stress. Robust herbivore natural enemies may play an important role in buffering the impact of climate change on plant-herbivore interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anouk Guyer
- Institute of Plant SciencesUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)University of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Bruce E. Hibbard
- Plant Genetics Research UnitUSDA‐ARSUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouri
| | - Annelie Holzkämper
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)University of BernBernSwitzerland
- Institute for Sustainability Sciences ISSAgroscopeZürichSwitzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant SciencesUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)University of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Christelle A. M. Robert
- Institute of Plant SciencesUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)University of BernBernSwitzerland
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46
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Vik D, Mitarai N, Wulff N, Halkier BA, Burow M. Dynamic Modeling of Indole Glucosinolate Hydrolysis and Its Impact on Auxin Signaling. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:550. [PMID: 29755493 PMCID: PMC5932361 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Plants release chemicals to deter attackers. Arabidopsis thaliana relies on multiple defense compounds, including indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate (I3G), which upon hydrolysis initiated by myrosinase enzymes releases a multitude of bioactive compounds, among others, indole-3-acetonitrile and indole-3-acetoisothiocyanate. The highly unstable isothiocyanate rapidly reacts with other molecules. One of the products, indole-3-carbinol, was reported to inhibit auxin signaling through binding to the TIR1 auxin receptor. On the contrary, the nitrile product of I3G hydrolysis can be converted by nitrilase enzymes to form the primary auxin molecule, indole-3-acetic acid, which activates TIR1. This suggests that auxin signaling is subject to both antagonistic and protagonistic effects of I3G hydrolysis upon attack. We hypothesize that I3G hydrolysis and auxin signaling form an incoherent feedforward loop and we build a mathematical model to examine the regulatory network dynamics. We use molecular docking to investigate the possible antagonistic properties of different I3G hydrolysis products by competitive binding to the TIR1 receptor. Our simulations reveal an uncoupling of auxin concentration and signaling, and we determine that enzyme activity and antagonist binding affinity are key parameters for this uncoupling. The molecular docking predicts that several I3G hydrolysis products strongly antagonize auxin signaling. By comparing a tissue disrupting attack - e.g., by chewing insects or necrotrophic pathogens that causes rapid release of I3G hydrolysis products - to sustained cell-autonomous I3G hydrolysis, e.g., upon infection by biotrophic pathogens, we find that each scenario gives rise to distinct auxin signaling dynamics. This suggests that plants have different defense versus growth strategies depending on the nature of the attack.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Vik
- DynaMo Center, Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Namiko Mitarai
- Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nikolai Wulff
- DynaMo Center, Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Barbara A. Halkier
- DynaMo Center, Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Meike Burow
- DynaMo Center, Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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47
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Robert CA, Zhang X, Machado RA, Schirmer S, Lori M, Mateo P, Erb M, Gershenzon J. Sequestration and activation of plant toxins protect the western corn rootworm from enemies at multiple trophic levels. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 29171835 PMCID: PMC5701792 DOI: 10.7554/elife.29307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Highly adapted herbivores can phenocopy two-component systems by stabilizing, sequestering and reactivating plant toxins. However, whether these traits protect herbivores against their enemies is poorly understood. We demonstrate that the western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, the most damaging maize pest on the planet, specifically accumulates the root-derived benzoxazinoid glucosides HDMBOA-Glc and MBOA-Glc. MBOA-Glc is produced by D. virgifera through stabilization of the benzoxazinoid breakdown product MBOA by N-glycosylation. The larvae can hydrolyze HDMBOA-Glc, but not MBOA-Glc, to produce toxic MBOA upon predator attack. Accumulation of benzoxazinoids renders D. virgifera highly resistant to nematodes which inject and feed on entomopathogenic symbiotic bacteria. While HDMBOA-Glc and MBOA reduce the growth and infectivity of both the nematodes and the bacteria, MBOA-Glc repels infective juvenile nematodes. Our results illustrate how herbivores combine stabilized and reactivated plant toxins to defend themselves against a deadly symbiosis between the third and the fourth trophic level enemies. The western corn rootworm is the most damaging pest of maize plants. Out of sight, the larvae of this beetle feed on maize roots, and cause billions of dollars worth of losses each year. One of the reasons why this pest remains such a problem is it can adapt and resist many crop protection strategies. Biological control refers to combating a pest using its own natural enemies – for example, its predators. Biological control of the western corn rootworm has been attempted using nematode worms. Normally, the nematodes locate and enter an insect larvae, release bacteria that kill it, and then feed and multiply within the dead larvae. Yet, the western corn rootworm seems at least partly able to resist these nematodes, and the success of biological control in the field has been variable. Several insect herbivores are known to accumulate, or sequester, plant toxins in their own body for self-defense. Previously, in 2012, researchers reported that the western corn rootworm is resistant and attracted to the major toxins in maize roots, the benzoxazinoids. The blood-like fluid of the western corn rootworm also repels many predators. Could the western corn rootworm be sequestering maize benzoxazinoids to resist the biological control of nematodes and their bacterial partners? Plants store benzoxazinoids in a non-toxic form. If herbivores damage the plant, these molecules quickly break down into compounds that are toxic to most insects. Now Robert et al. – who include two of the researchers involved in the 2012 study – show that the western corn rootworm uses a similar defense system to protect itself against biological control nematodes and their bacterial partners. First, the larvae convert a benzoxazinoid breakdown product by adding a glucose molecule. They then release large amounts of this modified molecule to repel young nematodes. Second, via an unknown mechanism, the larvae stabilize a second plant-derived benzoxazinoid, sequester its non-toxic form in their bodies, and activate it upon nematode attack. The resulting toxins can kill both nematodes and their bacterial partners. By combining different chemical strategies to stabilize and activate plant toxins, the western corn rootworm is able to resist the nematodes used for biological control. These findings can help to explain why biological control has had limited success against the western corn rootworm. In the long run, they may lead to more effective biological control programs, for instance by stopping the western corn rootworm from sequestering benzoxazinoids or by using natural enemies that are resistant to the insect’s toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christelle Am Robert
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Xi Zhang
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Stefanie Schirmer
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Martina Lori
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pierre Mateo
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan Gershenzon
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
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48
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Schimmel BCJ, Ataide LMS, Kant MR. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of tomato induced defense responses affects spider mite performance and behavior. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR 2017; 12:e1370526. [PMID: 28857667 PMCID: PMC5647976 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2017.1370526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
When feeding from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), the generalist spider mite Tetranychus urticae induces jasmonate (JA)- and salicylate (SA)-regulated defense responses that hamper its performance. The related T. evansi, a Solanaceae-specialist, suppresses these defenses, thereby upholding a high performance. On a shared leaf, T. urticae can be facilitated by T. evansi, likely via suppression of defenses by the latter. Yet, when infesting the same plant, T. evansi outcompetes T. urticae. Recently, we found that T. evansi intensifies suppression of defenses locally, i.e., at its feeding site, after T. urticae mites were introduced onto adjacent leaf tissue. This hyper-suppression is paralleled by an increased oviposition rate of T. evansi, probably promoting its competitive population growth. Here we present additional data that not only provide insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of defense induction and suppression by mites, but that also suggest T. evansi to manipulate more than JA and SA defenses alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernardus C. J. Schimmel
- Department of Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Livia M. S. Ataide
- Department of Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Entomology, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Merijn R. Kant
- Department of Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- CONTACT Merijn R. Kant Postbus 94240, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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49
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Tzin V, Hojo Y, Strickler SR, Bartsch LJ, Archer CM, Ahern KR, Zhou S, Christensen SA, Galis I, Mueller LA, Jander G. Rapid defense responses in maize leaves induced by Spodoptera exigua caterpillar feeding. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:4709-4723. [PMID: 28981781 PMCID: PMC5853842 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Insects such as the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) cause extensive damage to maize (Zea mays). Maize plants respond by triggering defense signaling, changes in gene expression, and biosynthesis of specialized metabolites. Leaves of maize inbred line B73, which has an available genome sequence, were infested with S. exigua for 1 to 24 h, followed by comparisons of the transcript and metabolite profiles with those of uninfested controls. The most extensive gene expression responses occurred rapidly, within 4-6 h after caterpillar infestation. However, both gene expression and metabolite profiles were altered within 1 h and continued to change during the entire 24 h experiment. The defensive functions of three caterpillar-induced genes were examined using available Dissociation transposon insertions in maize inbred line W22. Whereas mutations in the benzoxazinoid biosynthesis pathway (Bx1 and Bx2) significantly improved caterpillar growth, the knockout of a 13-lipoxygenase (Lox8) involved in jasmonic acid biosynthesis did not. Interestingly, 9-lipoxygenases, which lead to the production of maize death acids, were more strongly induced by caterpillar feeding than 13-lipoxygenases, suggesting an as yet unknown function in maize defense against herbivory. Together, these results provide a comprehensive view of the dynamic transcriptomic and metabolomic responses of maize leaves to caterpillar feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vered Tzin
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Yuko Hojo
- Okayama University, Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
| | - Susan R Strickler
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Lee J Bartsch
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Cairo M Archer
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Kevin R Ahern
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Shaoqun Zhou
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Shawn A Christensen
- USDA-ARS Chemistry Unit, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Ivan Galis
- Okayama University, Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
| | - Lukas A Mueller
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Georg Jander
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, USA
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Wouters FC, Blanchette B, Gershenzon J, Vassão DG. Plant defense and herbivore counter-defense: benzoxazinoids and insect herbivores. PHYTOCHEMISTRY REVIEWS : PROCEEDINGS OF THE PHYTOCHEMICAL SOCIETY OF EUROPE 2016; 15:1127-1151. [PMID: 27932939 PMCID: PMC5106503 DOI: 10.1007/s11101-016-9481-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Benzoxazinoids are a class of indole-derived plant chemical defenses comprising compounds with a 2-hydroxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one skeleton and their derivatives. These phytochemicals are widespread in grasses, including important cereal crops such as maize, wheat and rye, as well as a few dicot species, and display a wide range of antifeedant, insecticidal, antimicrobial, and allelopathic activities. Although their overall effects against insect herbivores are frequently reported, much less is known about how their modes of action specifically influence insect physiology. The present review summarizes the biological activities of benzoxazinoids on chewing, piercing-sucking, and root insect herbivores. We show how within-plant distribution modulates the exposure of different herbivore feeding guilds to these defenses, and how benzoxazinoids may act as toxins, feeding deterrents and digestibility-reducing compounds under different conditions. In addition, recent results on the metabolism of benzoxazinoids by insects and their consequences for plant-herbivore interactions are addressed, as well as directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe C. Wouters
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Blair Blanchette
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jonathan Gershenzon
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel G. Vassão
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
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