Tomato glycosyltransferase Twi1 plays a role in flavonoid glycosylation and defence against virus

Abstract

BackgroundSecondary metabolites play an important role in the plant defensive response. They are produced as a defence mechanism against biotic stress by providing plants with antimicrobial and antioxidant weapons. In higher plants, the majority of secondary metabolites accumulate as glycoconjugates. Glycosylation is one of the commonest modifications of secondary metabolites, and is carried out by enzymes called glycosyltransferases.ResultsHere we provide evidence that the previously described tomato wound and pathogen-induced glycosyltransferase Twi1 displays in vitro activity toward the coumarins scopoletin, umbelliferone and esculetin, and the flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol, by uncovering a new role of this gene in plant glycosylation. To test its activity in vivo, Twi1-silenced transgenic tomato plants were generated and infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus. The Twi1-silenced plants showed a differential accumulation of Twi1 substrates and enhanced susceptibility to the virus.ConclusionsBiochemical in vitro assays and transgenic plants generation proved to be useful strategies to assign a role of tomato Twi1 in the plant defence response. Twi1 glycosyltransferase showed to regulate quercetin and kaempferol levels in tomato plants, affecting plant resistance to viral infection.

Iris domestica (iso)flavone 7- and 3′-O-Glycosyltransferases Can Be Induced by CuCl2

“…The different expression levels of BcUGTs in the transcriptome of I. domestica seedlings indicate that BcUGTs may play important roles in responses to abiotic stresses. In plants, glycosylation is a key modification that allows the formation of a myriad of secondary metabolites, which play many important roles in plant responses to challenges faced during growth and development (Bowles et al, 2005 ; Gachon et al, 2005 ; Campos et al, 2019 ). PlUGT4, −15 and −57 are up-regulated in P. lobata roots after methyl jasmonate treatments (Wang X. et al, 2019 ), and PlUGT1 may be related to the defense response against the MeJA treatment.…”

Transcriptome Analysis of Rice Reveals the lncRNA–mRNA Regulatory Network in Response to Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus Infection

“…We also found that genes participating in flavonoids biosynthesis could also be regulated by DElncRNAs, such as TCONS_00065705-LOC_Os03g18030, TCONS_00065705-LOC_Os10g16974, and TCONS_00059822-LOC_Os04g51660 ( Figure 6 and Table S11). The flavonoids are important in plant resistance against pathogens and insects [41], and have been shown to enhance the plant resistance to PVX and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) [54,55], as well as the resistance of rice to the brown planthopper [56]. The upregulation of these DElncRNAs and their related flavonoid biosynthesis genes suggests that rice can increase the accumulation of the flavonoids to counter viral infection and planthopper feeding, and lncRNAs may be essential regulators in this process.…”

Overexpression of Lectin Receptor-Like Kinase 1 in Tomato Confers Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Radicis-Lycopersici

“…The relative abundance of the target transcripts was determined by the comparative threshold cycle method (Schmittgen and Livak, 2008) using Elongation Factor 1 alpha (eEF1α,Solyc06g069020) as an internal reference (Campos et al, 2019).…”