Innovative approaches to exploit host plant metabolites in malaria control

Author(s):  
Baldwyn Torto
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Zhang ◽  
Mingfa Lv ◽  
Wenfang Yin ◽  
Tingyan Dong ◽  
Changqing Chang ◽  
...  

The plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris produces diffusible signal factor (DSF) quorum sensing (QS) signals to regulate its biological functions and virulence. Our previous study showed that X. campestris pv. campestris utilizes host plant metabolites to enhance the biosynthesis of DSF family signals. However, it is unclear how X. campestris pv. campestris benefits from the metabolic products of the host plant. In this study, we observed that the host plant metabolites not only boosted the production of the DSF family signals but also modulated the expression levels of DSF-regulated genes in X. campestris pv. campestris. Infection with X. campestris pv. campestris induced changes in the expression of many sugar transporter genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Exogenous addition of sucrose or glucose, which are the major products of photosynthesis in plants, enhanced DSF signal production and X. campestris pv. campestris pathogenicity in the Arabidopsis model. In addition, several sucrose hydrolase–encoding genes in X. campestris pv. campestris and sucrose invertase–encoding genes in the host plant were notably upregulated during the infection process. These enzymes hydrolyzed sucrose to glucose and fructose, and in trans expression of one of these enzymes, CINV1 of A. thaliana or XC_0805 of X. campestris pv. campestris, enhanced DSF signal biosynthesis in X. campestris pv. campestris in the presence of sucrose. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that X. campestris pv. campestris applies multiple strategies to utilize host plant sugars to enhance QS and pathogenicity.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 2067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mubasher Hussain ◽  
Biswojit Debnath ◽  
Muhammad Qasim ◽  
Bamisope Steve Bamisile ◽  
Waqar Islam ◽  
...  

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is a very destructive crucifer-specialized pest that has resulted in significant crop losses worldwide. DBM is well attracted to glucosinolates (which act as fingerprints and essential for herbivores in host plant recognition) containing crucifers such as wintercress, Barbarea vulgaris (Brassicaceae) despite poor larval survival on it due to high-to-low concentration of saponins and generally to other plants in the genus Barbarea. B. vulgaris build up resistance against DBM and other herbivorous insects using glucosinulates which are used in plant defense. Aside glucosinolates, Barbarea genus also contains triterpenoid saponins, which are toxic to insects and act as feeding deterrents for plant specialist herbivores (such as DBM). Previous studies have found interesting relationship between the host plant and secondary metabolite contents, which indicate that attraction or resistance to specialist herbivore DBM, is due to higher concentrations of glucosinolates and saponins in younger leaves in contrast to the older leaves of Barbarea genus. As a response to this phenomenon, herbivores as DBM has developed a strategy of defense against these plant biochemicals. Because there is a lack of full knowledge in understanding bioactive molecules (such as saponins) role in plant defense against plant herbivores. Thus, in this review, we discuss the role of secondary plant metabolites in plant defense mechanisms against the specialist herbivores. In the future, trials by plant breeders could aim at transferring these bioactive molecules against herbivore to cash crops.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Om Prakash Narayan ◽  
Nidhi Verma ◽  
Abhimanyu Jogawat ◽  
Meenakshi Dua ◽  
Atul Kumar Johri

ABSTRACTSulfur is an important macronutrient required for the growth, development of plants and is a key component of many metabolic pathways. We have functionally characterized a high-affinity sulphate transporter (PiSulT) from an endophytic fungus Serendipita indica. The PiSulT belongs to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) of membrane transporter. The PiSulT functionally complements the yeast sulphate transporter mutant HK14. PiSulT is a high-affinity sulphate transporter, having Km 15μM. We found enhanced expression of PiSulT in external fungal hyphae which helps the fungus in the acquisition of sulphate from the soil. When knockdown (KD)-PiSulT-P.indica colonized with the plant, it results in an 8-fold reduction in the transfer of sulphate to the colonized plants as compared to the plants colonized with the WT S. indica, which suggests that PiSulT is playing a role in sulphate transfer from soil to host plant. Further, plants colonized with the WT S. indica were found to be healthy in comparison to the plants colonized with the KD-PiSulT-P.indica. Additionally, S. indica colonization provides a positive effect on total sulfur content and on plant metabolites like sulfate ions and glutathione, particularly under low sulphate condition. We observed that the expression of sulfur assimilation pathway genes of S. indica and plant is dependent on the availability of sulphate and on the colonization with the plant. Our study highlights the importance of PiSulT in the improvement of sulfur nutrition of host plant particularly under low sulphate condition and in plant growth development. This study will open new vistas to use S. indica as a bio-fertilizer in the sulphate deficient field to improve crop production.One-Sentence SummaryHigh-affinity sulphate transporter of Serendipita indica (PiSulT) transfer sulphate from soil to plant under low sulphate condition and improve plant growth and development.


Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Shugart ◽  
Timothy Ebert ◽  
Frederick Gmitter ◽  
Michael Rogers

The invasive Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is the primary vector of the phloem-infecting bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. Candidatus L. asiaticus is the putative causal agent of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, a destructive disease of Citrus. While many Citrus species are susceptible to D. citri probing and HLB disease, there are marked behavioral differences in D. citri probing responses and Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus infection severity among Citrus species. Using four mandarin hybrid selections and pummelo plants variably resistant to D. citri probing, oviposition, and survival, we explored probing differences using electropenetrography (EPG), conducted an oviposition and survival study, and determined host plant metabolites using gas-chromatography mass-spectroscopy (GC-MS). We found thirty-seven D. citri probing variables to be significantly different among tested mandarin selections and pummelo, in addition to differential oviposition and survivorship abilities on tested plants. We found sixty-three leaf metabolites with eight being significantly different among tested mandarin selections and pummelo. Detailed analysis of probing behavior, oviposition, survivorship, and host plant metabolite concentrations reveals the complex, layered resistance mechanisms utilized by resistant Citrus against D. citri probing. EPG is a powerful technology for screening Asian citrus psyllid resistant Citrus to elucidate host plant-vector interactions, with an aim to minimize vector probing and eliminate the spread of the bacterial pathogen, Ca. L. asiaticus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 4073
Author(s):  
Sujata Singh ◽  
Chetna Tyagi ◽  
Irfan A. Rather ◽  
Jamal S.M. Sabir ◽  
Md. Imtaiyaz Hassan ◽  
...  

Chemosensory perception in insects involves a broad set of chemosensory proteins (CSPs) that identify the bouquet of chemical compounds present in the external environment and regulate specific behaviors. The current study is focused on the Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) chemosensory-related protein, SlitCSP3, a midgut-expressed CSP, which demonstrates differential gene expression upon different diet intake. There is an intriguing possibility that SlitCSP3 can perceive food-derived chemical signals and modulate insect feeding behavior. We predicted the three-dimensional structure of SlitCSP3 and subsequently performed an accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) simulation of the best-modeled structure. SlitCSP3 structure has six α-helices arranged as a prism and a hydrophobic binding pocket predominated by leucine and isoleucine. We analyzed the interaction of selected host plant metabolites with the modeled structure of SlitCSP3. Out of two predicted binding pockets in SlitCSP3, the plant-derived defensive metabolites 2-b-D-glucopyranosyloxy-4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-1, 4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA), 6-Methoxy-2–benzoxazolinone (MBOA), and nicotine were found to interact preferably to the hydrophobic site 1, compared to site 2. The current study provides the potential role of CSPs in recognizing food-derived chemical signals, host-plant specialization, and adaptation to the varied ecosystem. Our work opens new perspectives in designing novel pest-management strategies. It can be further used in the development of CSP-based advanced biosensors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Górska-Drabik ◽  
Klaudia Magierowicz

Abstract Acrobasis advenella is an oligophagous species feeding on plants of the Rosaceae family. The differences in concentrations of host plant quality components, above all primary metabolites and the presence or absence of secondary metabolites, directly affects herbivore growth and development. The objectives of this research were to determine the food preferences of 1st instar larvae according to the chemical composition of host plants. The highest acceptance of rowan in the free choice test by 1st instar larvae, as compared to hawthorn and black chokeberry, is positively influenced by the high content of total sugars and phenolic acids. The conclusion to be drawn from the results is that the differences in food choice by 1st instar larvae feeding on fruits could have been due to the different chemical compositions of the fruit.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Walter ◽  
Roman Hein ◽  
Harald Auge ◽  
Carl Beierkuhnlein ◽  
Sonja Löffler ◽  
...  

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Luis F. Salomé-Abarca ◽  
Cees A. M. J. J. van den Hondel ◽  
Özlem Erol ◽  
Peter G. L. Klinkhamer ◽  
Hye Kyong Kim ◽  
...  

Fungal endophytes isolated from two latex bearing species were chosen as models to show their potential to expand their host plant chemical diversity. Thirty-three strains were isolated from Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae) and Euphorbia myrsinites (Euphorbiaceae). High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) was used to metabolically profile samples. The selected strains were well clustered in three major groups by hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) of the HPTLC data, and the chemical profiles were strongly correlated with the strains’ colony size. This correlation was confirmed by orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) modeling using colony size as “Y” variable. Based on the multivariate data analysis of the HPTLC data, the fastest growing strains of each cluster were selected and used for subsequent experiments: co-culturing to investigate interactions between endophytes-phytopathogens, and biotransformation of plant metabolites by endophytes. The strains exhibited a high capacity to fight against fungal pathogens. Moreover, there was an increase in the antifungal activity after being fed with host-plant metabolites. These results suggest that endophytes play a role in plant defense mechanisms either directly or by biotransformation/induction of metabolites. Regarding HPTLC-based metabolomics, it has proved to be a robust approach to monitor the interactions among fungal endophytes, the host plant and potential phytopathogens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1378-1385
Author(s):  
Pauline Menelle ◽  
Jérôme Quintin ◽  
Kevin Cottet ◽  
Yann Fromentin ◽  
Joëlle Dupont ◽  
...  

Biotransformations by endophytes of host-plant metabolites allow to produce molecular diversity and obtain molecules that are little present in the plant.


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