Decoding Metabolic Reprogramming in Plants under Pathogen Attacks, a Comprehensive Review of Emerging Metabolomics Technologies to Maximize Their Applications

Abstract

In their environment, plants interact with a multitude of living organisms and have to cope with a large variety of aggressions of biotic or abiotic origin. What has been known for several decades is that the extraordinary variety of chemical compounds the plants are capable of synthesizing may be estimated in the range of hundreds of thousands, but only a fraction has been fully characterized to be implicated in defense responses. Despite the vast importance of these metabolites for plants and also for human health, our knowledge about their biosynthetic pathways and functions is still fragmentary. Recent progress has been made particularly for the phenylpropanoids and oxylipids metabolism, which is more emphasized in this review. With an increasing interest in monitoring plant metabolic reprogramming, the development of advanced analysis methods should now follow. This review capitalizes on the advanced technologies used in metabolome mapping in planta, including different metabolomics approaches, imaging, flux analysis, and interpretation using bioinformatics tools. Advantages and limitations with regards to the application of each technique towards monitoring which metabolite class or type are highlighted, with special emphasis on the necessary future developments to better mirror such intricate metabolic interactions in planta.

Medicinal Plants against Viral Infections: A Review of Metabolomics Evidence for the Antiviral Properties and Potentials in Plant Sources

“…In studying the synergistic effect of more than one compound on microbes, stronger bioactivities have been reported using metabolomics [ 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 ]. The metabolomics approach is therefore promising, as a useful strategy for the study of complex interactions between plant metabolites [ 159 , 160 ].…”

Viral Infections and Medicinal Plants: A Review of Metabolomics Evidence for the Antiviral Properties and Potentials in Plant Sources

“…In studying the synergistic effect of more than one compound on microbes, stronger bioactivities have been reported using metabolomics [141][142][143][144]. The metabolomics approach is therefore promising, as a useful strategy for the study of complex interactions between plant metabolites [145,146].…”

Metabolomics of early blight (Alternaria solani) susceptible tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) unfolds key biomarker metabolites and involved metabolic pathways

“…Such studies are important to pin point biological properties of multiscale network connections and significant biomarker metabolite signatures in plant pathogenic interactions 9 . Emerging metabolomics technologies entwined with bioinformatics tools and statistical modules are unequivocally becoming important to understand reprogramming of metabolites and their metabolic pathway in plants under plant-pathogenic interaction 10 , 11 . LC–MS is an indispensable tool not only for revealing biotic stress-linked significant biomarker metabolites that hold prospects of becoming mQTLs to assist stress breeding programs, but for exploring intrinsic cellular mechanisms that regulate plant responses in the environment also 12 , 13 .…”

“…Critical perturbations in the metabolism of susceptible plants post pathogen invasion drive key outcomes of the attempted infection 19 . This could be observed in substantial metabolic reprogramming in key biosynthetic pathways that allow plants to synthesize and accumulate diverse metabolic capabilities to overcome diseases 21 . Hence, uncovering metabolic responses in pathogen-challenged and non-challenged susceptible plants could reveal key changes in the pathways of defense, signaling, hormones and primary and secondary metabolites that determine pathogen progression 2 .…”