Metabolomic profiling reveals suppression of oxylipin biosynthesis during the early stages of legume-rhizobia symbiosis.
The establishment of symbiosis between leguminous plants and rhizobial bacteria requires rapid metabolic changes in both partners. We utilized untargeted quantitative mass spectrometry to perform metabolomic profiling of small molecules in extracts of the model legume Medicago truncatula treated with rhizobial Nod factors. One metabolite closely resembling the 9(R)-HODE class of oxylipins reproducibly showed a decrease in concentration within the first hour of in planta nod factor treatment. Oxylipins are precursors of the jasmonic acid biosynthetic pathway and we showed that both this metabolite and jasmonic acid inhibit Nod factor signaling. Since, oxylipins have been implicated as antimicrobial compounds produced by plants, these observations suggest that the oxylipin pathway may play multiple roles in facilitating Nod factor signaling during the early stages of symbiosis.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Na
N
Zhang
Muthusubramanian
M
Venkateshwaran
Melissa
M
Boersma
Amy
A
Harms
Maegen
M
Howes-Podoll
Désirée
D
den Os
Jean-Michel
JM
Ané
Michael R
MR
Sussman
D001483:Base Sequence; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D046913:Medicago truncatula / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000502:physiology*
D018744:DNA, Plant; C438018:ENOD11 protein, Medicago truncatula; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D054883:Oxylipins; D010940:Plant Proteins