RT journal article
T1 Sirex noctilio infestation led to inevitable pine death despite activating pathways involved in tolerance
A1 Riquelme, Sebastián
A1 Campos, Jasna V.
A1 Pecio, Łukasz
A1 Alzamora, Rosa
A1 Mardones, Claudia
A1 Simonet Morales, Ana María
A1 Arteaga Pérez, Luis E.
A1 Rubilar, Rafael
A1 Fiehn, Oliver
A1 Pérez, Andy J.
A2 Química Orgánica
K1 Pinus radiata D.
K1 don
K1 Pinaceae
K1 Radiata pine
K1 LC-MS metabolomics
K1 Plant-insect interaction
K1 Plant defense
K1 Sirex noctilio
K1 Woodwasp
AB Defense-related metabolome traits in pine species after infestation by Sirex noctilio are largely unknown, despite, in most cases, trees being overwhelmed. Using LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics, we revealed the systemic metabolic changes induced by this insect in 14-year-old Pinus radiata trees, the most affected species worldwide. An immediate metabolome alteration was expressed in needles after infestation, including the up-regulation of flavonols, flavan-3-ols, oxyneolignans, auxins, proline, and tryptophan, among others. The flavan-3-ols (catechin and procyanidin B1) suggested a rapidly induced photoprotection mechanism aided by diverting proline as an alternative substrate for respiration to compensate for the progressive chlorosis that degrades photosystems. Meanwhile, glutathione, glutamate, and ascorbate levels significantly dropped in needles, which may indicate the critical oxidative stress that trees had to face since the onset of the infestation. They were not fully replenished after long-term infestation, and redox homeostasis was probably not achieved, compromising tree survival. Nevertheless, a huge auxins overexpression detected in needles throughout the infestation may reflect tolerance against the premature senescence caused by the woodwasp venom. In contrast, the metabolome of wood tissues remained initially unchanged, although it seems to collapse after three months. Overall, the metabolomics strategy adopted in this work evidenced its usefulness in uncovering the fundamental roles of plants’ chemical defense that govern interactions with specific stressors.
PB PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
SN 0031-9422
YR 2022
FD 2022-07-22
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30394
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30394
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 06-nov-2026