Linking Plant Secondary Metabolites and Plant Microbiomes: A Review

Abstract

Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) play many roles including defense against pathogens, pests, and herbivores; response to environmental stresses, and mediating organismal interactions. Similarly, plant microbiomes participate in many of the above-mentioned processes directly or indirectly by regulating plant metabolism. Studies have shown that plants can influence their microbiome by secreting various metabolites and, in turn, the microbiome may also impact the metabolome of the host plant. However, not much is known about the communications between the interacting partners to impact their phenotypic changes. In this article, we review the patterns and potential underlying mechanisms of interactions between PSMs and plant microbiomes. We describe the recent developments in analytical approaches and methods in this field. The applications of these new methods and approaches have increased our understanding of the relationships between PSMs and plant microbiomes. Though the current studies have primarily focused on model organisms, the methods and results obtained so far should help future studies of agriculturally important plants and facilitate the development of methods to manipulate PSMs–microbiome interactions with predictive outcomes for sustainable crop productions.

Impact of Plant-Associated Bacteria on the In Vitro Growth and Pathogenic Resistance against Phellinus tremulae of Different Aspen (Populus) Genotypes

“…The present study highlights the effects tested microorganisms may have on Populus SM synthesis. In previous studies, SMs, such as phenols and flavonoids, have been linked with various functions in plants: response to environmental stress, resistance to pathogens and mediation of interactions [ 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ]. Flavonoids specifically, are known to be associated with Populus sp.…”

“…Plant growth promoting bacteria are being more widely used in agriculture, as an eco-friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides [7,12]; however, the potential application of such beneficial bacteria in forestry has not yet been sufficiently explored [13]. Tree resistance to pathogens is related to the general viability of trees and their ability to synthesize and mobilize secondary metabolites (SMs) [4,[14][15][16][17]. Modern technologies for the improvement of forest tree planting material include quantitation of phenolic compounds, since these SMs perform numerous protective functions and their amount is related to general or specific plant pathogenic resistance [4,14,18,19].…”

“…Tree resistance to pathogens is related to the general viability of trees and their ability to synthesize and mobilize secondary metabolites (SMs) [ 4 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Modern technologies for the improvement of forest tree planting material include quantitation of phenolic compounds, since these SMs perform numerous protective functions and their amount is related to general or specific plant pathogenic resistance [ 4 , 14 , 18 , 19 ].…”

“…Modern technologies for the improvement of forest tree planting material include quantitation of phenolic compounds, since these SMs perform numerous protective functions and their amount is related to general or specific plant pathogenic resistance [ 4 , 14 , 18 , 19 ]. Endophytic bacteria were proven to have an effect on plants’ secondary metabolism [ 16 , 20 , 21 ]; however, overall, little is known about the mechanisms of how this happens [ 16 ]. Moreover, studies show that the ability of different plant genotypes to synthesize SMs and mobilize them against pathogens is variable; therefore, genetic selection is appropriate in this respect [ 4 , 14 , 15 , 18 ].…”

Synergistically promoting plant health by harnessing synthetic microbial communities and prebiotics

“…Different growth media are useful for the isolation of a wide range of filamentous fungi, culturable bacteria, actinomycetes, yeasts, and oomycetes (Haas and Dé fago, 2005). Soil amendment with organic and inorganic degradable compounds is another useful biochemical method to stimulate the bioactivity of soil microbes (Mastan et al, 2019;Pang et al, 2021). These compounds also indicate the suppressive properties of soils containing microbial communities (Pane et al, 2015).…”