Abscisic and Jasmonic Acids Contribute to Soybean Tolerance to the Soybean Aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura)

Abstract

Plant resistance can provide effective, economical, and sustainable pest control. Tolerance to the soybean aphid has been identified and confirmed in the soybean KS4202. Although its resistance mechanisms are not fully understood, evidence suggests that enhanced detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an active system under high aphid infestation. We further explored tolerance by evaluating the differences in constitutive and aphid-induced defenses in KS4202 through the expression of selected defense-related transcripts and the levels of the phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), JA-isoleucine (JA-Ile), cis-(+)-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA), and salicylic acid (SA) over several time points. Higher constitutive levels of ABA and JA, and basal expression of ABA- and JA-related transcripts were found in the tolerant genotype. Conversely, aphid-induced defenses in KS4202 were expressed as an upregulation of peroxidases under prolonged aphid infestation (>7 days). Our results point at the importance of phytohormones in constitutive defense in KS4202 tolerance to the soybean aphid. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of tolerance will assist breeding for soybean with these traits, and perhaps help extend the durability of Rag (Resistance to Aphis glycines)-mediated resistance genes.

Aphid-Responsive Defense Networks in Hybrid Switchgrass

“…Both SA and ABA can be mobilized from distal sources, including roots, and/or converted from inactive esters to active forms via the action of hydrolases (Seiler et al, 2011;Maruri-Lopez et al, 2019). ABA has also been associated with increased aphid colonization of plants (Studham and MacIntosh, 2013;Chapman et al, 2018), and this appears to be the case in switchgrass as well. In addition, several switchgrass homologs of PDR12 (AT1G15520), which functions as an ABA transporter (Boursiac et al, 2013), were upregulated in plants subjected to aphid herbivory, suggesting mobilization from other tissues and/or stored forms as potential sources of increasing shoot ABA levels.…”

QTL Mapping Using a High-Density Genetic Map to Identify Candidate Genes Associated With Metribuzin Tolerance in Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…Hu et al (2019) indicated that SlF3HL is a positive regulator of chilling stress tolerance in tomato, possibly by regulating JA biosynthesis and signaling. Chapman et al (2018) revealed that JA contributed to soybean's tolerance to soybean aphid. Interestingly, JA triggered stress tolerance to the herbicide imazapic in tobacco (Kaya and Doganlar, 2016).…”

Resistance Components and Interactions of Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Heterodera glycines (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae) in Soybean

“…Several studies have described the differential changes in phytohormones that occur during aphid-feeding in resistant, tolerant, and susceptible cultivars [93,94,95,96,97]. The cyclical expression patterns of the different markers and responsive genes for salicylic acid (SA) observed in aphid-infested plants suggests the role of SA in soybean resistance to aphid feeding [94].…”

“…A recent study has shown the constitutive expression of LOX2, LOX10 and OPDA-REDUCTASE 3 (OPR3) in the tolerant soybean cultivar KS4202 upon A. glycines infestation which suggests the role of lipooxygenases and OPDA in soybean-A. glycines system[93]. Also, the role of OPDA and dn-OPDA in nematode resistance has been studied in Arabidopsis and root-knot nematode, M. hapla system using mutants in the JA-biosynthetic pathway[252].…”