Transcriptomic changes induced by applications of a commercial extract of Ascophyllum nodosum on tomato plants

Abstract

Extracts of Ascophyllum nodosum are commonly used as commercial biostimulants in crop production. To further understand the seaweed extract-induced phenomena in plants, a transcriptomic study was conducted. RNA-seq differential gene expression analysis of tomato plants treated with a commercial A. nodosum extract formulation (Stimplex) revealed the up-regulation of 635 and down-regulation of 456 genes. Ontology enrichment analysis showed three gene categories were augmented, including biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the extract had a strong influence on the expression of genes involved in carbon fixation, secondary metabolism, MAPK-signalling, plant hormone signal transduction, glutathione metabolism, phenylpropanoid and stilbenoid metabolism, and plant-pathogen interactions. qRT-PCR validation analysis using 15 genes established a strong correlation with the RNA sequencing results. The activities of defence enzymes were also significantly enhanced by seaweed extract treatment. Furthermore, AN-SWE treated tomato plants had significantly higher chlorophyll and growth hormone content and showed improved plant growth parameters and nutrient profiles than the control. It is postulated that seaweed extract-induced gene regulation was responsible for favourable plant responses that enabled better growth and tolerance to stress conditions. This study provides evidence at the transcriptomic level for the positive effects of foliar application of the Ascophyllum nodosum extract (Stimplex) observed in treated tomato plants.

Forest tree extracts induce resistance toPseudomonas syringaepv.tomatoin Arabidopsis

“…Several studies have reported the induction of PR protein-encoding and other SA-inducible genes in leaf tissue following treatment with plant extracts, as exemplified with crude extracts of seaweed [42,43,44], red grape [45], African lily [19], coffee [14] or medicinal plants [46]. For instance, Goupil et al [45] reported the local and systemic induction of SA-inducible proteins PR1 and PR2 in tobacco leaves treated with an aqueous extract of red grape, similar to Islam et al [43] reporting the induction of PR1 and NPR1 marker genes in Arabidopsis following foliar application of a seaweed extract; or to Medeiros et al [14] showing an increased expression of WRKY family transcription factors involved in SAR in tomato treated with a coffee leaf extract.…”

Transcriptome, Biochemical and Phenotypic Analysis of the Effects of a Precision Engineered Biostimulant for Inducing Salinity Stress Tolerance in Tomato

“…An important objective of this study was integrating the data generated at four levels of biological information (phenotype, physiology, biochemistry, and transcriptome) in different plant tissues (root, lower stem, old leaf, upper steam, and young leaf) in a critical growth stage of tomato crop for crop productivity and quality (i.e., late fruit filling stage/early fruit harvest stage). While some authors have evaluated the effect of ANEs and PHBs in root and leaf tissues [ 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], the specific evaluation of metabolite partitioning in the root, stem and leaf tissues along with transcriptome studies in salinity stressed plants treated with PSI-475 brings a new level of detail on the mode of action of a biostimulant.…”

“…In addition to the beneficial role of commercial Ascophyllum nodosum extracts (ANEs) and protein hydrolysate biostimulants (PHBs) on plant growth, crop yield, NUE and crop quality traits, there are several examples of their ability to stimulate responses in plants and crops to cope with abiotic stresses [ 20 , 21 ]. Although transcriptome studies have also been used to evaluate the effect of ANEs and PHBs on plants [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], most of the effects of ANEs and PHBs at the molecular level have been developed in plants growing under unstressed conditions, short termed and linked to phytohormone, antioxidant and nutrient-related activities [ 28 ]. Therefore, the mode of action of ANEs and PHBs in enhancing plant tolerance to abiotic stresses remains relatively unexplored, especially in terms of integrating phenotypic, physiological, biochemical and transcriptome information.…”

Transcriptome-wide modulation bySargassum vulgareandAcanthophora spiciferaextracts results in a prime-triggered plant signalling cascade in tomato and sweet pepper

“…The plants were grown at 30°C, 70–85 % relative humidity and 600–1000 μmol photons per m 2 per second with ~12-h photoperiod. Irrigation was supplied via a drip system with each plant receiving 20 mL water, three times a day ( Ali et al 2022 ).…”