Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2021) | Viewed by 21191

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
IRBV, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Interests: plant primary metabolism; plant stress; protein redox modifications; plant respiration; targeted metabolomics

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Montreal, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Interests: plant-insect interactions; climate change; plant specialized metabolism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Biotic and abiotic factors can lead to plant stress, which limits growth and development, often negatively impacting crop productivity with the potential to affect food security. To cope with adverse environmental conditions, one of the most important plant responses is metabolic adaptation. This involves adjusting metabolic processes, allowing the plant to withstand and survive stress. This requires integrating environmental, physiological, and developmental information to modify pathways and may result in, for example, increased production of defence compounds against pathogens or pests and/or redirecting metabolic fluxes to deal with nutrient limitation. Understanding how plant adjust their metabolism to cope with stress has critical implications for the development of novel crop varieties that will be able to withstand the predicted effects of climate change on agricultural productivity. This Special Issue on “Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses” highlights recent developments in our understanding of how plants modulate their metabolism in response to stress. We welcome primary research papers, as well as short or in-depth literature reviews on the topic. This Special Issue covers biotic and abiotic stresses, including, but not limited to, topics such as plant responses to nutrient limitations, elevated CO2, water stress, salinity and osmotic stresses, extreme temperatures, and response to pathogens and pests.

Prof. Dr. Jean Rivoal
Prof. Dr. Jacquie Bede
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • plant stress
  • biotic stress
  • abiotic stress
  • metabolic adaptation
  • metabolomics
  • metabolic flux
  • metabolic regulation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2153 KiB  
Article
The Response of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Plants to Three Abiotic Stresses Applied with Increasing Intensity: Hypoxia, Salinity, and Water Deficit
by Jayamini Jayawardhane, Juran C. Goyali, Somaieh Zafari and Abir U. Igamberdiev
Metabolites 2022, 12(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12010038 - 04 Jan 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2858
Abstract
Exposing plants to gradually increasing stress and to abiotic shock represents two different phenomena. The knowledge on plants’ responses following gradually increasing stress is limited, as many of the studies are focused on abiotic shock responses. We aimed to investigate how cowpea ( [...] Read more.
Exposing plants to gradually increasing stress and to abiotic shock represents two different phenomena. The knowledge on plants’ responses following gradually increasing stress is limited, as many of the studies are focused on abiotic shock responses. We aimed to investigate how cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) plants respond to three common agricultural abiotic stresses: hypoxia (applied with the increasing time of exposure to nitrogen gas), salinity (gradually increasing NaCl concentration), and water deficit (gradual decrease in water supply). We hypothesized that the cowpea plants would increase in tolerance to these three abiotic stresses when their intensities rose in a stepwise manner. Following two weeks of treatments, leaf and whole-plant fresh weights declined, soluble sugar levels in leaves decreased, and lipid peroxidation of leaves and roots and the levels of leaf electrolyte leakage increased. Polyphenol oxidase activity in both roots and leaves exhibited a marked increase as compared to catalase and peroxidase. Leaf flavonoid content decreased considerably after hypoxia, while it increased under water deficit treatment. NO emission rates after 3 h in the hypoxically treated plants were similar to the controls, while the other two treatments resulted in lower values of NO production, and these levels further decreased with time. The degree of these changes was dependent on the type of treatment, and the observed effects were more substantial in leaves than in roots. In summary, the responses of cowpea plants to abiotic stress depend on the type and the degree of stress applied and the plant organs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses)
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13 pages, 3878 KiB  
Article
A Core Metabolome Response of Maize Leaves Subjected to Long-Duration Abiotic Stresses
by Jaya Joshi, Ghulam Hasnain, Taylor Logue, Madeline Lynch, Shan Wu, Jiahn-Chou Guan, Saleh Alseekh, Alisdair R. Fernie, Andrew D. Hanson and Donald R. McCarty
Metabolites 2021, 11(11), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11110797 - 22 Nov 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2715
Abstract
Abiotic stresses reduce crop growth and yield in part by disrupting metabolic homeostasis and triggering responses that change the metabolome. Experiments designed to understand the mechanisms underlying these metabolomic responses have usually not used agriculturally relevant stress regimes. We therefore subjected maize plants [...] Read more.
Abiotic stresses reduce crop growth and yield in part by disrupting metabolic homeostasis and triggering responses that change the metabolome. Experiments designed to understand the mechanisms underlying these metabolomic responses have usually not used agriculturally relevant stress regimes. We therefore subjected maize plants to drought, salt, or heat stresses that mimic field conditions and analyzed leaf responses at metabolome and transcriptome levels. Shared features of stress metabolomes included synthesis of raffinose, a compatible solute implicated in tolerance to dehydration. In addition, a marked accumulation of amino acids including proline, arginine, and γ-aminobutyrate combined with depletion of key glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates indicated a shift in balance of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in stressed leaves. Involvement of the γ-aminobutyrate shunt in this process is consistent with its previously proposed role as a workaround for stress-induced thiamin-deficiency. Although convergent metabolome shifts were correlated with gene expression changes in affected pathways, patterns of differential gene regulation induced by the three stresses indicated distinct signaling mechanisms highlighting the plasticity of plant metabolic responses to abiotic stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses)
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20 pages, 5609 KiB  
Article
Root Suberin Plays Important Roles in Reducing Water Loss and Sodium Uptake in Arabidopsis thaliana
by Nayana D. G. de Silva, Jhadeswar Murmu, Denise Chabot, Keith Hubbard, Peter Ryser, Isabel Molina and Owen Rowland
Metabolites 2021, 11(11), 735; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11110735 - 27 Oct 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2902
Abstract
Suberin is a cell-wall-associated hetero-polymer deposited in specific plant tissues. The precise role of its composition and lamellae structure in protecting plants against abiotic stresses is unclear. In Arabidopsis thaliana, we tested the biochemical and physiological responses to water deficiency and NaCl [...] Read more.
Suberin is a cell-wall-associated hetero-polymer deposited in specific plant tissues. The precise role of its composition and lamellae structure in protecting plants against abiotic stresses is unclear. In Arabidopsis thaliana, we tested the biochemical and physiological responses to water deficiency and NaCl treatment in mutants that are differentially affected in suberin composition and lamellae structure. Chronic drought stress increased suberin and suberin-associated waxes in wild-type plants. Suberin-deficient mutants were not more susceptible than the wild-type to the chronic drought stress imposed in this study. Nonetheless, the cyp86a1-1 cyp86b1-1 mutant, which had a severely altered suberin composition and lamellae structure, exhibited increased water loss through the root periderm. Cyp86a1-1 cyp86b1-1 also recorded lower relative water content in leaves. The abcg2-1 abcg6-1 abcg20-1 mutant, which has altered suberin composition and lamellae, was very sensitive to NaCl treatment. Furthermore, cyp86a1-1 cyp86b1-1 recorded a significant drop in the leaf K/Na ratio, indicating salt sensitivity. The far1-2 far4-1 far5-1 mutant, which did not show structural defects in the suberin lamellae, had similar responses to drought and NaCl treatments as the wild-type. Our results provide evidence that the suberin amount and lamellae structure are key features in the barrier function of suberin in reducing water loss and reducing sodium uptake through roots for better performance under drought and salt stresses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses)
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25 pages, 3246 KiB  
Article
The Induction of the Isoflavone Biosynthesis Pathway Is Associated with Resistance to Common Bacterial Blight in Phaseolus vulgaris L.
by Laura D. Cox, Seth Munholland, Lili Mats, Honghui Zhu, William L. Crosby, Lewis Lukens, Karl Peter Pauls and Gale G. Bozzo
Metabolites 2021, 11(7), 433; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11070433 - 01 Jul 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3319
Abstract
Xanthomonas axonopodis infects common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) causing the disease common bacterial blight (CBB). The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying CBB resistance in P. vulgaris. Trifoliate leaves of plants of a CBB-resistant [...] Read more.
Xanthomonas axonopodis infects common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) causing the disease common bacterial blight (CBB). The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying CBB resistance in P. vulgaris. Trifoliate leaves of plants of a CBB-resistant P. vulgaris recombinant inbred line (RIL) and a CBB-susceptible RIL were inoculated with X. axonopodis or water (mock treatment). Leaves sampled at defined intervals over a 48-h post-inoculation (PI) period were monitored for alterations in global transcript profiles. A total of 800 genes were differentially expressed between pathogen and mock treatments across both RILs; approximately half were differentially expressed in the CBB-resistant RIL at 48 h PI. Notably, there was a 4- to 32-fold increased transcript abundance for isoflavone biosynthesis genes, including several isoflavone synthases, isoflavone 2′-hydroxylases and isoflavone reductases. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assessed leaf metabolite levels as a function of the PI period. The concentrations of the isoflavones daidzein and genistein and related metabolites coumestrol and phaseollinisoflavan were increased in CBB-resistant RIL plant leaves after exposure to the pathogen. Isoflavone pathway transcripts and metabolite profiles were unaffected in the CBB-susceptible RIL. Thus, induction of the isoflavone pathway is associated with CBB-resistance in P. vulgaris. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses)
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Review

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32 pages, 3833 KiB  
Review
Glutathione Metabolism in Plants under Stress: Beyond Reactive Oxygen Species Detoxification
by Sonia Dorion, Jasmine C. Ouellet and Jean Rivoal
Metabolites 2021, 11(9), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11090641 - 19 Sep 2021
Cited by 71 | Viewed by 7659
Abstract
Glutathione is an essential metabolite for plant life best known for its role in the control of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Glutathione is also involved in the detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG) which, much like ROS, is produced at low levels by aerobic metabolism [...] Read more.
Glutathione is an essential metabolite for plant life best known for its role in the control of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Glutathione is also involved in the detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG) which, much like ROS, is produced at low levels by aerobic metabolism under normal conditions. While several physiological processes depend on ROS and MG, a variety of stresses can dramatically increase their concentration leading to potentially deleterious effects. In this review, we examine the structure and the stress regulation of the pathways involved in glutathione synthesis and degradation. We provide a synthesis of the current knowledge on the glutathione-dependent glyoxalase pathway responsible for MG detoxification. We present recent developments on the organization of the glyoxalase pathway in which alternative splicing generate a number of isoforms targeted to various subcellular compartments. Stress regulation of enzymes involved in MG detoxification occurs at multiple levels. A growing number of studies show that oxidative stress promotes the covalent modification of proteins by glutathione. This post-translational modification is called S-glutathionylation. It affects the function of several target proteins and is relevant to stress adaptation. We address this regulatory function in an analysis of the enzymes and pathways targeted by S-glutathionylation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Metabolic Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses)
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