Soluble phenylpropanoids are involved in the defense response of Arabidopsis against Verticillium longisporum.
Verticillium longisporum is a soil-borne vascular pathogen causing economic loss in rape. Using the model plant Arabidopsis this study analyzed metabolic changes upon fungal infection in order to identify possible defense strategies of Brassicaceae against this fungus. Metabolite fingerprinting identified infection-induced metabolites derived from the phenylpropanoid pathway. Targeted analysis confirmed the accumulation of sinapoyl glucosides, coniferin, syringin and lignans in leaves from early stages of infection on. At later stages, the amounts of amino acids increased. To test the contribution of the phenylpropanoid pathway, mutants in the pathway were analyzed. The sinapate-deficient mutant fah1-2 showed stronger infection symptoms than wild-type plants, which is most likely due to the lack of sinapoyl esters. Moreover, the coniferin accumulating transgenic plant UGT72E2-OE was less susceptible. Consistently, sinapoyl glucose, coniferyl alcohol and coniferin inhibited fungal growth and melanization in vitro, whereas sinapyl alcohol and syringin did not. The amount of lignin was not significantly altered supporting the notion that soluble derivatives of the phenylpropanoid pathway contribute to defense. These data show that soluble phenylpropanoids are important for the defense response of Arabidopsis against V. longisporum and that metabolite fingerprinting is a valuable tool to identify infection-relevant metabolic markers.
Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Stefanie
S
König
Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Kirstin
K
Feussner
Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-University, Goldschmidtstr. 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Alexander
A
Kaever
Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-University, Goldschmidtstr. 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Manuel
M
Landesfeind
Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Corinna
C
Thurow
Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Mycotoxin Research, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August-University, Grisebachstr. 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Petr
P
Karlovsky
Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Christiane
C
Gatz
Department of Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Büsgen-Institute, Georg-August-University, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Andrea
A
Polle
Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Ivo
I
Feussner
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000187:drug effects; D002934:Cinnamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000276:immunology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005960:Glucosides / Q000494:pharmacology; D017705:Lignans / Q000378:metabolism; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism; D055432:Metabolomics; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D058526:Plant Vascular Bundle / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D020005:Propanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D020172:Verticillium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D002934:Cinnamates; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D005960:Glucosides; D017705:Lignans; D010636:Phenols; D020005:Propanols; C103373:sinapoylglucose; C439395:1-phenylpropanol; C073734:sinapinic acid; D008031:Lignin; C010559:coniferyl alcohol; C016316:coniferin
Verticillium sp; coniferyl esters; infection markers; lignin; metabolite fingerprinting; phenylpropanoids; sinapate esters