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Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 32146

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioannis-Dimosthenis Adamakis

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Section of Botany, Department of Biology, School of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Interests: abiotic/biotic stress effects on plants; plant cell biology; phytomorphogenesis; plant biomass utilization; innovative ecological quality monitoring systems
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Dr. Kosmas Haralampidis

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Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Interests: molecular plant development; genetics; ubiquitin ligase complexes; histone methylation complexes; plant cell wall; abiotic stress; plant secondary metabolism and PNPs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

After the successful completion of Volume I of this Special Issue and the great interest in this research topic, we continue with Volume II.

Plants are subjected to a wide range of environmental stresses, which can be either of biotic or abiotic nature. Abiotic stress includes radiation, salinity, floods, drought, extremes in temperature, heavy metals, etc. On the other hand, attacks by various pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria, oomycetes, nematodes, and herbivores, are included in biotic stresses. As plants are sessile in nature, they have no choice to escape from these environmental hazards. Therefore, plants have developed various mechanisms to overcome these potential life-threatening environmental conditions. The plant responses are largely dependent on the tissue or organ affected. They sense the external stress, get stimulated and then generate appropriate cellular responses that are reflected in the plant organ’s structural changes. The stimuli received from the sensors located on the cell surface or cytoplasm are transferred to the transcriptional machinery situated in the nucleus, with the help of various signal transduction pathways. The signalling pathways act as a connecting link and play an important role in sensing the stress and generating an appropriate biochemical and physiological response. There is an urgent need for a change of focus in plant stress research, in order to understand the nature of multiple stress responses and to create avenues for developing plants that are resistant to multiple stresses yet maintain high yields. This Special Issue focuses on the effects of biotic and abiotic stress interaction in plants, with an emphasis on elucidating the molecular/cellular/physiological mechanisms or even any morphological/anatomical adaptation involved. We encourage novices and experienced scientists to contribute original research papers and reviews on the effects of any environmental pressures on plants. Contributions at the organism, cellular, molecular, and -omic level are highly welcome.

Dr. Ioannis-Dimosthenis Adamakis
Dr. Kosmas Haralampidis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

environmental extremes
pollutants
pathogens
oxidative stress
gene regulation
structural integrity
adaptations

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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20 pages, 5306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

APRF1 Interactome Reveals HSP90 as a New Player in the Complex That Epigenetically Regulates Flowering Time in Arabidopsis thaliana

by Ioannis Isaioglou, Varvara Podia, Athanassios D. Velentzas, Georgios Kapolas, Despoina Beris, Michael Karampelias, Panagiota Konstantinia Plitsi, Dimitris Chatzopoulos, Despina Samakovli, Andreas Roussis, Jasmeen Merzaban, Dimitra Milioni, Dimitrios J. Stravopodis and Kosmas Haralampidis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(2), 1313; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25021313 - 21 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1736

Abstract

WD40 repeat proteins (WDRs) are present in all eukaryotes and include members that are implicated in numerous cellular activities. They act as scaffold proteins and thus as molecular “hubs” for protein–protein interactions, which mediate the assembly of multifunctional complexes that regulate key developmental processes in Arabidopsis thaliana, such as flowering time, hormonal signaling, and stress responses. Despite their importance, many aspects of their putative functions have not been elucidated yet. Here, we show that the late-flowering phenotype of the anthesis promoting factor 1 (aprf1) mutants is temperature-dependent and can be suppressed when plants are grown under mild heat stress conditions. To gain further insight into the mechanism of APRF1 function, we employed a co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) approach to identify its interaction partners. We provide the first interactome of APRF1, which includes proteins that are localized in several subcellular compartments and are implicated in diverse cellular functions. The dual nucleocytoplasmic localization of ARRF1, which was validated through the interaction of APRF1 with HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 1 (HSP90.1) in the nucleus and with HSP90.2 in the cytoplasm, indicates a dynamic and versatile involvement of APRF1 in multiple biological processes. The specific interaction of APRF1 with the chaperon HSP90.1 in the nucleus expands our knowledge regarding the epigenetic regulation of flowering time in A. thaliana and further suggests the existence of a delicate thermoregulated mechanism during anthesis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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23 pages, 1104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Culturomics-Based Bacterial Synthetic Community for Improving Resilience towards Arsenic and Heavy Metals in the Nutraceutical Plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

by Noris J. Flores-Duarte, Eloísa Pajuelo, Enrique Mateos-Naranjo, Salvadora Navarro-Torre, Ignacio D. Rodríguez-Llorente, Susana Redondo-Gómez and José A. Carrasco López

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7003; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087003 - 10 Apr 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2935

Abstract

Plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) help plants thrive in polluted environments and increase crops yield using fewer inputs. Therefore, the design of tailored biofertilizers is of the utmost importance. The purpose of this work was to test two different bacterial synthetic communities (SynComs) from the microbiome of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, a moderate halophyte with cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical applications. The SynComs were composed of specific metal-resistant plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria and endophytes. In addition, the possibility of modulating the accumulation of nutraceutical substances by the synergetic effect of metal stress and inoculation with selected bacteria was tested. One of the SynComs was isolated on standard tryptone soy agar (TSA), whereas the other was isolated following a culturomics approach. For that, a culture medium based on M. crystallinum biomass, called Mesem Agar (MA), was elaborated. Bacteria of three compartments (rhizosphere soil, root endophytes, and shoot endophytes) were isolated on standard TSA and MA media, stablishing two independent collections. All bacteria were tested for PGP properties, secreted enzymatic activities, and resistance towards As, Cd, Cu, and Zn. The three best bacteria from each collection were selected in order to produce two different consortiums (denominated TSA- and MA-SynComs, respectively), whose effect on plant growth and physiology, metal accumulation, and metabolomics was evaluated. Both SynComs, particularly MA, improved plant growth and physiological parameters under stress by a mixture of As, Cd, Cu, and Zn. Regarding metal accumulation, the concentrations of all metals/metalloids in plant tissues were below the threshold for plant metal toxicity, indicating that this plant is able to thrive in polluted soils when assisted by metal/metalloid-resistant SynComs and could be safely used for pharmaceutical purposes. Initial metabolomics analyses depict changes in plant metabolome upon exposure to metal stress and inoculation, suggesting the possibility of modulating the concentration of high-value metabolites. In addition, the usefulness of both SynComs was tested in a crop plant, namely Medicago sativa (alfalfa). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of these biofertilizers in alfalfa, improving plant growth, physiology, and metal accumulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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17 pages, 4981 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The SAH7 Homologue of the Allergen Ole e 1 Interacts with the Putative Stress Sensor SBP1 (Selenium-Binding Protein 1) in Arabidopsis thaliana

by Irene Dervisi, Orfeas Petropoulos, Adamantia Agalou, Varvara Podia, Nikolaos Papandreou, Vassiliki A. Iconomidou, Kosmas Haralampidis and Andreas Roussis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3580; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043580 - 10 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1981

Abstract

In this study, we focused on a member of the Ole e 1 domain-containing family, AtSAH7, in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our lab reports for the first time on this protein, AtSAH7, that was found to interact with Selenium-binding protein 1 (AtSBP1). We studied by GUS assisted promoter deletion analysis the expression pattern of AtSAH7 and determined that the sequence 1420 bp upstream of the transcription start can act as a minimal promoter inducing expression in vasculature tissues. Moreover, mRNA levels of AtSAH7 were acutely increased under selenite treatment in response to oxidative stress. We confirmed the aforementioned interaction in vivo, in silico and in planta. Following a bimolecular fluorescent complementation approach, we determined that the subcellular localization of the AtSAH7 and the AtSAH7/AtSBP1 interaction occur in the ER. Our results indicate the participation of AtSAH7 in a biochemical network regulated by selenite, possibly associated with responses to ROS production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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19 pages, 20114 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GUS Reporter-Aided Promoter Deletion Analysis of A. thaliana POLYAMINE OXIDASE 3

by Varvara Podia, Dimitris Chatzopoulos, Dimitra Milioni, Dimitrios J. Stravopodis, Irene Dervisi, Andreas Roussis, Kalliopi A. Roubelakis-Angelakis and Kosmas Haralampidis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2317; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032317 - 24 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2651

Abstract

Polyamine oxidases (PAOs) have been correlated with numerous physiological and developmental processes, as well as responses to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Their transcriptional regulation is driven by signals generated by various developmental and environmental cues, including phytohormones. However, the inductive mechanism(s) of the corresponding genes remains elusive. Out of the five previously characterized Arabidopsis PAO genes, none of their regulatory sequences have been analyzed to date. In this study, a GUS reporter-aided promoter deletion approach was used to investigate the transcriptional regulation of AtPAO3 during normal growth and development as well as under various inductive environments. AtPAO3 contains an upstream open reading frame (uORF) and a short inter-cistronic sequence, while the integrity of both appears to be crucial for the proper regulation of gene expression. The full-length promoter contains several cis-acting elements that regulate the tissue-specific expression of AtPAO3 during normal growth and development. Furthermore, a number of TFBS that are involved in gene induction under various abiotic stress conditions display an additive effect on gene expression. Taken together, our data indicate that the transcription of AtPAO3 is regulated by multiple environmental factors, which probably work alongside hormonal signals and shed light on the fine-tuning mechanisms of PAO regulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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15 pages, 42985 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Functional Characterization of CIPK Gene Family Members in Actinidia valvata under Salt Stress

by Shichao Gu, Muhammad Abid, Danfeng Bai, Chen Chen, Leiming Sun, Xiujuan Qi, Yunpeng Zhong and Jinbao Fang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 805; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010805 - 2 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2904

Abstract

Fruit plants are severely constrained by salt stress in the soil due to their sessile nature. Ca²⁺ sensors, which are known as CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs), transmit abiotic stress signals to plants. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the molecular regulatory role of CIPKs underlying salt stress tolerance in kiwifruit. In the current study, we have identified 42 CIPK genes from Actinidia. valvata (A.valvata). All the AvCIPKs were divided into four different phylogenetic groups. Moreover, these genes showed different conserved motifs. The expression pattern analysis showed that AvCIPK11 was specifically highly expressed under salt stress. The overexpression of AvCIPK11 in ‘Hongyang’ (a salt sensitive commercial cultivar from Actinidia chinensis) enhanced salt tolerance by maintaining K⁺/Na⁺ homeostasis in the leaf and positively improving the activity of POD. In addition, the salt-related genes AcCBL1 and AcNHX1 had higher expression in overexpression lines. Collectively, our study suggested that AvCIPK11 is involved in the positive regulation of salt tolerance in kiwifruit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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14 pages, 4415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Elevated Aluminum Concentration and Distribution on Root Damage, Cell Wall Polysaccharides, and Nutrient Uptake in Different Tolerant Eucalyptus Clones

by Wannian Li, Saif Ullah, Yuanyuan Xu, Tiandao Bai, Shaoming Ye, Weixin Jiang and Mei Yang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(21), 13438; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113438 - 3 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3394

Abstract

Aluminized acidic soil can damage Eucalyptus roots and limit tree growth, hindering the productivity of Eucalyptus plantations. At present, the negative impacts of elevated aluminum (Al) on the cell morphology and cell wall properties of Eucalyptus root tip are still unclear. In order to investigate the responses of two different tolerant clones, Eucalyptus urophylla (G4) and Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla (G9), to Al toxicity, seedling roots were treated hydroponically with an Al solution, and the polysaccharide content in the root tip cell wall and the characteristics of programmed cell death were studied. The results show that the distribution of Al was similar in both clones, although G9 was found to be more tolerant to Al toxicity than G4. The Al³⁺ uptake of pectin in root tip cell walls was significantly higher in G4 than in G9. The root tip in G4 was obviously damaged, enlarged, thickened, and shorter; the root crown cells were cracked and fluffy; and the cell elongation area was squeezed. The lower cell wall polysaccharide content and PME activity may result in fewer carboxylic groups in the root tip cell wall to serve as Al-binding sites, which may explain the stronger Al resistance of G9 than G4. The uptake of nitrogen and potassium in G4 was significantly reduced after aluminum application and was lower than in G9. Al-resistant Eucalyptus clones may have synergistic pleiotropic effects in resisting high aluminum–low phosphorus stress, and maintaining higher nitrogen and potassium levels in roots may be an important mechanism for effectively alleviating Al toxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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17 pages, 3498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Treatments with Liquid Smoke and Certain Chemical Constituents Prevalent in Smoke Reduce Phloem Vascular Sectoriality in the Sunflower with Improvement to Growth

by Randi Noel, Mary Benoit, Stacy L. Wilder, Spenser Waller, Michael Schueller and Richard A. Ferrieri

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(20), 12468; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232012468 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3887

Abstract

Many higher plants possess a physiological organization that is based upon the carbon economy of their parts. While photosynthates are partitioned according to the relative strength of the plant’s sink tissues, in many species there is also a very close relationship between partitioning, phyllotaxy and vascular connectivity giving rise to sectorial patterns of allocation. Here, we examined the influence of smoke and certain chemical constituents prevalent in smoke including, catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone on phloem vascular sectoriality in common sunflower (Helianthis annuus L.), as a model plant for sectoriality. By administering radioactive carbon-11 to a single source leaf as ¹¹CO₂, ¹¹C-photosynthate allocation patterns were examined using autoradiography. A 1:200 aqueous dilution of liquid smoke treated soil caused 2.6-fold and 2.5-fold reductions in phloem sectoriality in sink leaves and roots, respectively. Treatment with catechol (1,2-d ihydroxybenzene) or resorcinol (1,3-dihydroxybenzene), polyphenolic constituents that are prevalent in smoke, caused similar reductions in phloem sectoriality in the same targeted sink tissues. However, treatment with hydroquinone (1,4-dihydroxybenzene) had no effect. Finally, the longer-term effects of smoke exposure on plant growth and performance were examined using outdoor potted plants grown over the 2022 season. Plants exposed to liquid smoke treatments of the soil on a weekly basis had larger thicker leaves possessing 35% greater lignin content than untreated control plants. They also had thicker stems although the lignin content was the same as controls. Additionally, plants exposed to treatment produced twice the number of flowers with no difference in their disk floret diameters as untreated controls. Altogether, loss of phloem sectoriality from exposure to liquid smoke in the sunflower model benefited plant performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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30 pages, 4422 KiB

Open AccessArticle

AtGSTU19 and AtGSTU24 as Moderators of the Response of Arabidopsis thaliana to Turnip mosaic virus

by Katarzyna Otulak-Kozieł, Edmund Kozieł, Edit Horváth and Jolán Csiszár

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19), 11531; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911531 - 29 Sep 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2414

Abstract

Plants produce glutathione as a response to the intercellular redox state. Glutathione actively participates in the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent signaling pathway, especially under biotic stress conditions. Most of the glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are induced in cells during the defense response of plants not only through highly specific glutathione-binding abilities but also by participating in the signaling function. The tau class of GSTs has been reported to be induced as a response under stress conditions. Although several studies have focused on the role of the tau class of GSTs in plant–pathogen interactions, knowledge about their contribution to the response to virus inoculation is still inadequate. Therefore, in this study, the response of Atgstu19 and Atgstu24 knockout mutants to mechanical inoculation of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) was examined. The systemic infection of TuMV was more dynamically promoted in Atgstu19 mutants than in wild-type (Col-0) plants, suggesting the role of GSTU19 in TuMV resistance. However, Atgstu24 mutants displayed virus limitation and downregulation of the relative expression of TuMV capsid protein, accompanied rarely by TuMV particles only in vacuoles, and ultrastructural analyses of inoculated leaves revealed the lack of virus cytoplasmic inclusions. These findings indicated that Atgstu24 mutants displayed a resistance-like reaction to TuMV, suggesting that GSTU24 may suppress the plant resistance. In addition, these findings confirmed that GSTU1 and GSTU24 are induced and contribute to the susceptible reaction to TuMV in the Atgstu19–TuMV interaction. However, the upregulation of GSTU19 and GSTU13 highly correlated with virus limitation in the resistance-like reaction in the Atgstu24–TuMV interaction. Furthermore, the highly dynamic upregulation of GST and glutathione reductase (GR) activities resulted in significant induction (between 1 and 14 days post inoculation [dpi]) of the total glutathione pool (GSH + GSSG) in response to TuMV, which was accompanied by the distribution of active glutathione in plant cells. On the contrary, in Atgstu19, which is susceptible to TuMV interaction, upregulation of GST and GR activity only up to 7 dpi symptom development was reported, which resulted in the induction of the total glutathione pool between 1 and 3 dpi. These observations indicated that GSTU19 and GSTU24 are important factors in modulating the response to TuMV in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, it was clear that glutathione is an important component of the regulatory network in resistance and susceptible response of A. thaliana to TuMV. These results help achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating the Arabidopsis–TuMV pathosystem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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20 pages, 3308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improved Salinity Tolerance-Associated Variables Observed in EMS Mutagenized Wheat Lines

by Johanna Lethin, Caitlin Byrt, Bettina Berger, Chris Brien, Nathaniel Jewell, Stuart Roy, Hesam Mousavi, Selvakumar Sukumaran, Olof Olsson and Henrik Aronsson

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19), 11386; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911386 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3209

Abstract

Salinity tolerance-associated phenotypes of 35 EMS mutagenized wheat lines originating from BARI Gom-25 were compared. Vegetative growth was measured using non-destructive image-based phenotyping. Five different NaCl concentrations (0 to 160 mM) were applied to plants 19 days after planting (DAP 19), and plants were imaged daily until DAP 38. Plant growth, water use, leaf Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ content, and thousand kernel weight (TKW) were measured, and six lines were selected for further analysis. In saline conditions, leaf Na⁺, K^+, and Cl⁻ content variation on a dry weight basis within these six lines were ~9.3, 1.4, and 2.4-fold, respectively. Relative to BARI Gom-25, two (OA6, OA62) lines had greater K⁺ accumulation, three (OA6, OA10, OA62) had 50–75% lower Na⁺:K⁺ ratios, and OA62 had ~30% greater water-use index (WUI). OA23 had ~2.2-fold greater leaf Na⁺ and maintained TKW relative to BARI Gom-25. Two lines (OA25, OA52) had greater TKW than BARI Gom-25 when grown in 120 mM NaCl but similar Na⁺:K⁺, WUI, and biomass accumulation. OA6 had relatively high TKW, high leaf K^+, and WUI, and low leaf Na⁺ and Cl⁻. Phenotypic variation revealed differing associations between the parameters measured in the lines. Future identification of the genetic basis of these differences, and crossing of lines with phenotypes of interest, is expected to enable the assessment of which combinations of parameters deliver the greatest improvement in salinity tolerance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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16 pages, 2383 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GmbZIP152, a Soybean bZIP Transcription Factor, Confers Multiple Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses in Plant

by Mengnan Chai, Rongbin Fan, Youmei Huang, Xiaohu Jiang, Myat Hnin Wai, Qi Yang, Han Su, Kaichuang Liu, Suzhuo Ma, Zhitao Chen, Fengjiao Wang, Yuan Qin and Hanyang Cai

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(18), 10935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810935 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2670

Abstract

Soybean is one of the most important food crops in the world. However, with the environmental change in recent years, many environmental factors like drought, salinity, heavy metal, and disease seriously affected the growth and development of soybean, causing substantial economic losses. In this study, we screened a bZIP transcription factor gene, GmbZIP152, which is significantly induced by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (S. sclerotiorum), phytohormones, salt-, drought-, and heavy metal stresses in soybean. We found that overexpression of GmbZIP152 in Arabidopsis (OE-GmbZIP152) enhances the resistance to S. sclerotiorum and the tolerance of salt, drought, and heavy metal stresses compared to wild-type (WT). The antioxidant enzyme related genes (including AtCAT1, AtSOD, and AtPOD1) and their enzyme activities are induced by S. sclerotiorum, salt, drought, and heavy metal stress in OE-GmbZIP152 compared to WT. Furthermore, we also found that the expression level of biotic- and abiotic-related marker genes (AtLOX6, AtACS6, AtERF1, and AtABI2, etc.) were increased in OE-GmbZIP152 compared to WT under S. sclerotiorum and abiotic stresses. Moreover, we performed a Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay and found that GmbZIP152 could directly bind to promoters of ABA-, JA-, ETH-, and SA-induced biotic- and abiotic-related genes in soybean. Altogether, GmbZIP152 plays an essential role in soybean response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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15 pages, 4303 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metabolic Profiling of Terpene Diversity and the Response of Prenylsynthase-Terpene Synthase Genes during Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Dendrobium catenatum

by Xinqiao Zhan, Yichun Qian and Bizeng Mao

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(12), 6398; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23126398 - 7 Jun 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2831

Abstract

Dendrobium catenatum is a widely cultivated Chinese orchid herb rich in abundant secondary metabolites, such as terpenes. However, terpene distribution and characterization of terpene biosynthesis-related genes remain unknown in D. catenatum. In this study, metabolic profiling was performed to analyze terpene distribution in the root, stem, leaf, and flower of D. catenatum. A total of 74 terpene compounds were identified and classified. Clustering analysis revealed that terpene compounds exhibited a tissue-specific accumulation, including monoterpenes in the flowers, sesquiterpenes in the stems, and triterpenes in the roots. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the ‘terpenoid backbone biosynthesis’ pathway was only significantly enriched in root vs. flower. The expression of terpene biosynthesis-related genes was spatiotemporal in the flowers. Prenylsynthase-terpene synthases (PS-TPSs) are the largest and core enzymes for generating terpene diversity. By systematic sequence analysis of six species, 318 PS-TPSs were classified into 10 groups and 51 DcaPS-TPSs were found in eight of them. Eighteen DcaPS-TPSs were regulated by circadian rhythm under drought stress. Most of the DcaPS-TPSs were influenced by cold stress and fungi infection. The cis-element of the majority of the DcaPS-TPS promoters was related to abiotic stress and plant development. Methyl jasmonate levels were significantly associated with DcaTPSs expression and terpene biosynthesis. These results provide insight into further functional investigation of DcaPS-TPSs and the regulation of terpene biosynthesis in Dendrobium. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotic and Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Structure and Physiology 2.0)

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