Metabolic profiling of chickpea-Fusarium interaction identifies differential modulation of disease resistance pathways

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) 2015-08, Vol.116, p.120-129
• Main Authors: Kumar, Yashwant, Dholakia, Bhushan B., Panigrahi, Priyabrata, Kadoo, Narendra Y., Giri, Ashok P., Gupta, Vidya S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chickpea; Cicer - metabolism; Disease Resistance - genetics; Fusarium - metabolism; Fusarium wilt; Host-Pathogen Interactions; LC–MS; Metabolomics; OPLS-DA; Phytoalexin; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Roots - genetics
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2015.04.001

Non-targeted metabolomics and multivariate data analyses revealed significant metabolic variations during chickpea-Fusarium interactions. Flavonoids, isoflavonoids as well as chitin induced metabolites were increased in the roots of resistant plant compared to the susceptible cultivar. [Display omitted] •UHPLC-orbitrap was adopted for the analysis of chickpea roots upon Foc inoculation.•Multivariate data analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed discriminating metabolites.•Flavanoids and isoflavanoids were the main pathogen responsive metabolites.•Chitin induced metabolites were more expressed in pathogen resistant plants. Chickpea is the third most widely grown legume in the world and mainly used as a vegetarian source of human dietary protein. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Foc), is one of the major threats to global chickpea production. Host resistance is the best way to protect crops from diseases; however, in spite of using various approaches, the mechanism of Foc resistance in chickpea remains largely obscure. In the present study, non-targeted metabolic profiling at several time points of resistant and susceptible chickpea cultivars using high-resolution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was applied to better understand the mechanistic basis of wilt resistance or susceptibility. Multivariate analysis of the data (OPLS-DA) revealed discriminating metabolites in chickpea root tissue after Foc inoculation such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids and sugars. Foc inoculated resistant plants had more flavonoids and isoflavonoids along with their malonyl conjugates. Many antifungal metabolites that were induced after Foc infection viz., aurantion-obstine β-glucosides and querecitin were elevated in resistant cultivar. Overall, diverse genetic and biochemical mechanisms were operational in the resistant cultivar for Foc defense as compared to the susceptible plant. The resistant chickpea plants employed the above-mentioned metabolic pathways as potential defense strategy against Foc.