Fusarium oxysporum infection activates the plastidial branch of the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway in flax, leading to increased ABA synthesis

Abstract

Main conclusion Upregulation of the terpenoid pathway and increased ABA content in flax upon Fusarium infection leads to activation of the early plant's response (PR genes, cell wall remodeling, and redox status).Abstract Plants have developed a number of defense strategies against the adverse effects of fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum. One such defense is the production of antioxidant secondary metabolites, which fall into two main groups: the phenylpropanoids and the terpenoids. While functions and biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids have been extensively studied, very little is known about the genes controlling the terpenoid synthesis pathway in flax. They can serve as antioxidants, but are also substrates for a plethora of different compounds, including those of regulatory functions, like ABA. ABA's function during pathogen attack remains obscure and often depends on the specific plant-pathogen interactions. In our study we showed that in flax the non-mevalonate pathway is strongly activated in the early hours of pathogen infection and that there is a redirection of metabolites towards ABA synthesis. The elevated synthesis of ABA correlates with flax resistance to F. oxysporum, thus we suggest ABA to be a positive regulator of the plant's early response to the infection.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Abscisic Acid-Induced Stomatal Closure: An Important Component of Plant Defense Against Abiotic and Biotic Stress

“…An increase in endogenous levels of ABA was also observed when plants were infected with pathogens, for e.g., Phaseolus by Colletotrichum (Dunn et al, 1990), flax by Fusarium (Boba et al, 2020), and nced5 mutant of Arabidopsis by Alternaria (Fan et al, 2009). Similarly, the clonal variation of chestnut susceptibility or resistance to Fusarium was related to ABA levels under infection (Camisón et al, 2019).…”

Transcriptomic profiling of susceptible and resistant flax seedlings after Fusarium oxysporum lini infection

“…infection was considerably higher in Nike than in Regina at both 24 hpi and 48 hpi (see in S9 Table and Table 1). Activation of TFs already present in the cell that leads to increased production of plant hormones, critical for the development of plant immune response, like salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene or abscisic acid [36,37]. Generally, plant responses to biotrophic pathogens, which require live tissue to complete their life cycle, are regulated by the SA signaling pathway, whereas necrotrophic pathogens that degrade plant material are regulated by the ET and/or JA signaling pathways.…”

“…Numbers of differentially expressed chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase genes were higher in Nike compared to Regina variety at 24 hpi, while they were similar at 48 hpi (see in S9 Table and Table 1). It was previously shown that β-1,3-glucanase as well as chitinase are essential for flax resistance to Fusarium [37] PLOS ONE and transgenic flax plants overexpressing the β-1,3-glucanase gene showed lower susceptibility to this pathogen [44].…”

Metabolomic Insights into the Browning of the Peel of Bagging ‘Rui Xue’ Apple Fruit

“…These oxygencontaining derivatives include alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, and carboxylic acid. It is derived from a methylene-dicarboxylic acid, and the basic frame for the ve-carbon unit, carbon for a single ring, multiple rings, open-chain terpene, open-chain terpene formula (C5H8) general formula, including steroid, carotenoids, plant hormones, and quinones [36]. Terpenoids are widely found in nature and are the main components of some plant essences, resins, and pigments (such as rose oil, eucalyptus oil, turpentine) [37].…”