Plant triterpenoid saponins function as susceptibility factors to promote the pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea.

The gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen that causes diseases in hundreds of plant species, including high-value crops. Its polyxenous nature and pathogenic success are due to its ability to perceive host signals in its favor. In this study, we found that laticifer cells of Euphorbia lathyris are a source of susceptibility factors required by B.

Metabolic crosstalk between hydroxylated monoterpenes and salicylic acid in tomato defense response against bacteria.

Hydroxylated monoterpenes (HMTPs) are differentially emitted by tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants resisting bacterial infection. We have studied the defensive role of these volatiles in the tomato response to bacteria, whose main entrance is through stomatal apertures. Treatments with some HMTPs resulted in stomatal closure and pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1) induction.

Custom-made design of metabolite composition in N. benthamiana leaves using CRISPR activators.

Transcriptional regulators based on CRISPR architecture expand our ability to reprogramme endogenous gene expression in plants. One of their potential applications is the customization of plant metabolome through the activation of selected enzymes in a given metabolic pathway. Using the previously described multiplexable CRISPR activator dCasEV2.

Untargeted Metabolomics of Rind Essential Oils Allowed to Differentiate Two Closely Related Clementine Varieties.

Chemical characterization of clementine varieties ( Hort. ex Tan.) essential oils (EO) can lead to variety identification and valorization of their potential use in food and aroma industries.

Conservation of Thermospermine Synthase Activity in Vascular and Non-vascular Plants.

In plants, the only confirmed function for thermospermine is regulating xylem cells maturation. However, genes putatively encoding thermospermine synthases have been identified in the genomes of both vascular and non-vascular plants. Here, we verify the activity of the thermospermine synthase genes and the presence of thermospermine in vascular and non-vascular land plants as well as in the aquatic plant .

Effect of Benzothiadiazole on the Metabolome of Tomato Plants Infected by Citrus Exocortis Viroid.

Benzothiadiazole (BTH) is a functional analogue of the phytohormone salycilic acid (SA) involved in the plant immune response. NahG tomato plants are unable to accumulate SA, which makes them hypersusceptible to several pathogens. Treatments with BTH increase the resistance to bacterial, fungal, viroid, or viral infections.

A New Role For Green Leaf Volatile Esters in Tomato Stomatal Defense Against pv. .

The volatile esters of (Z)-3-hexenol with acetic, propionic, isobutyric, or butyric acids are synthesized by alcohol acyltransferases (AAT) in plants. These compounds are differentially emitted when tomato plants are efficiently resisting an infection with pv. .

mA demethylase activity modulates viral infection of a plant virus and the mA abundance in its genomic RNAs.

N-methyladenosine (mA) is an internal, reversible nucleotide modification that constitutes an important regulatory mechanism in RNA biology. Unlike mammals and yeast, no component of the mA cellular machinery has been described in plants at present. mA has been identified in the genomic RNAs of diverse mammalian viruses and, additionally, viral infection was found to be modulated by the abundance of mA in viral RNAs.

Metabolic engineering to simultaneously activate anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathways in Nicotiana spp.

Proanthocyanidins (PAs), or condensed tannins, are powerful antioxidants that remove harmful free oxygen radicals from cells. To engineer the anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathways to de novo produce PAs in two Nicotiana species, we incorporated four transgenes to the plant chassis. We opted to perform a simultaneous transformation of the genes linked in a multigenic construct rather than classical breeding or retransformation approaches.

Unraveling Salt Tolerance Mechanisms in Halophytes: A Comparative Study on Four Mediterranean Species with Different Geographic Distribution Patterns.

We have performed an extensive study on the responses to salt stress in four related halophytes with different geographic distribution patterns, during seed germination and early vegetative growth. The aims of the work were twofold: to establish the basis for the different chorology of these species, and to identify relevant mechanisms of salt tolerance dependent on the control of ion transport and osmolyte accumulation. Seeds were germinated , in the presence of increasing NaCl concentrations, and subjected to "recovery of germination" tests; germination percentages and velocity were determined to establish the relative tolerance and competitiveness of the four taxa.

Drought Tolerance in Seed Sources As Identified by Distinctive Physiological and Molecular Markers.

Drought is one of the main constraints determining forest species growth, survival and productivity, and therefore one of the main limitations for reforestation or afforestation. The aim of this study is to characterize the drought response at the physiological and molecular level of different (common name Aleppo pine) seed sources, previously characterized in field trials as drought-sensitive or drought-tolerant. This approach aims to identify different traits capable of predicting the ability of formerly uncharacterized seedlings to cope with drought stress.

A Non-targeted Metabolomics Approach Unravels the VOCs Associated with the Tomato Immune Response against .

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants are secondary metabolites that mediate the plant interaction with pathogens and herbivores. These compounds may perform direct defensive functions, i.e.

Native-Invasive Plants vs. Halophytes in Mediterranean Salt Marshes: Stress Tolerance Mechanisms in Two Related Species.

Dittrichia viscosa is a Mediterranean ruderal species that over the last decades has expanded into new habitats, including coastal salt marshes, ecosystems that are per se fragile and threatened by human activities. To assess the potential risk that this native-invasive species represents for the genuine salt marsh vegetation, we compared its distribution with that of Inula crithmoides, a taxonomically related halophyte, in three salt marshes located in "La Albufera" Natural Park, near the city of Valencia (East Spain). The presence of D.

Transgenic tomato plants overexpressing tyramine N-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase exhibit elevated hydroxycinnamic acid amide levels and enhanced resistance to Pseudomonas syringae.

Hydroxycinnamic acid amides (HCAA) are secondary metabolites involved in plant development and defense that have been widely reported throughout the plant kingdom. These phenolics show antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. Hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:tyramine N-hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (THT) is the key enzyme in HCAA synthesis and is induced in response to pathogen infection, wounding, or elicitor treatments, preceding HCAA accumulation.

Diversity and relationships in key traits for functional and apparent quality in a collection of eggplant: fruit phenolics content, antioxidant activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, and browning.

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) varieties with increased levels of phenolics in the fruit present enhanced functional quality, but may display greater fruit flesh browning. We evaluated 18 eggplant accessions for fruit total phenolics content, chlorogenic acid content, DPPH scavenging activity, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, liquid extract browning, and fruit flesh browning. For all the traits we found a high diversity, with differences among accessions of up to 3.

Two copper complexes from two novel naphthalene-sulfonyl-triazole ligands: different nuclearity and different DNA binding and cleavage capabilities.

Two novel naphthalene-sulfonyl-triazole ligands, 5-amino-N1-(naphthalen-3-ylsulfonyl)-1,2,4-triazole (anstrz) and 3,5-diamino-N1-(naphthalen-3-ylsulfonyl)-1,2,4-triazole (danstrz), purposely designed to interact with DNA, have been prepared for the first time and then fully characterized by (1)H, (13)C NMR, and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. The crystal structures of two copper complexes of these derivatives, i.e.

The characterization of transgenic tomato overexpressing gibberellin 20-oxidase reveals induction of parthenocarpic fruit growth, higher yield, and alteration of the gibberellin biosynthetic pathway.

Fruit-set and growth in tomato depend on the action of gibberellins (GAs). To evaluate the role of the GA biosynthetic enzyme GA 20-oxidase (GA20ox) in that process, the citrus gene CcGA20ox1 was overexpressed in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv Micro-Tom.

Metabolic characterization of Withania somnifera from different regions of India using NMR spectroscopy.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dun. (Solanaceae), known as Indian ginseng, is one of the most popular medicinal plants in India.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel tomato xylosyltransferase specific for gentisic acid.

The importance of salicylic acid (SA) in the signal transduction pathway of plant disease resistance has been well documented in many incompatible plant-pathogen interactions, but less is known about signalling in compatible interactions. In this type of interaction, tomato plants have been found to accumulate high levels of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (gentisic acid, GA), a metabolic derivative of SA. Exogenous GA treatments induce in tomato plants a set of PR proteins that differ from those induced by salicylic acid.

Induction of p-coumaroyldopamine and feruloyldopamine, two novel metabolites, in tomato by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae.

Inoculation of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Rutgers) with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato led to the production of a hypersensitive-like response in this pathovar of tomato.

Production and fungitoxic activity of Sch 642305, a secondary metabolite of Penicillium canescens.

Production of fungitoxic extrolites was evaluated in culture filtrates of several isolates belonging to Penicillium canescens and P. janczewskii that showed some extent of inhibitory activity against the plant pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. In addition to griseofulvin and dechlorogriseofulvin that are already known in these species, curvulinic acid, previously unreported in Penicillium, was produced by all isolates assayed.