Article
Ecology
Nadia Ab Razak, Alan C. Gange
Summary: This study investigated the interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), foliar endophytes, and insects on Impatiens glandulifera. The results showed that AMF reduced plant biomass, while foliar endophytes increased aphid numbers. There were more interactions between AMF and endophytes than between endophytes themselves.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Louis Broussard, Cyril Abadie, Julie Lalande, Anis M. Limami, Jeremy Lothier, Guillaume Tcherkez
Summary: Phloem sap transport plays a crucial role in plant nutrition and development by redistributing nutrients, metabolites, and signaling molecules. However, its biochemical composition is not well-studied due to the difficulty in sampling and analyzing phloem sap. Recent metabolomics studies using liquid or gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry have provided insights into the phloem sap metabolome and its physiological implications. These studies show that phloem sap contains not only sugars and amino acids but also diverse metabolic pathways. They also suggest that metabolic exchange between source and sink organs is a common phenomenon, contributing to whole-plant metabolic cycles and shoot-root coordination of growth and development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Manman Jing, Zhaoyong Shi, Mengge Zhang, Menghan Zhang, Xiaohui Wang
Summary: Leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important functional traits in plants that affect biogeochemical cycles. Mycorrhiza, as a widely observed plant-fungus mutualistic symbiosis, plays a vital role in regulating plant growth. Different types of mycorrhiza have various ecological functions in nature. Drought stress negatively affects N and P concentrations in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) plants, but positively affects the N:P ratio. In contrast, drought stress significantly increases N and the N:P ratio of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) plants but decreases P concentrations. Short-term drought (<30 d) reduces more N and P in AM plants than long-term drought. The effects of N and P on drought stress also vary with different planting conditions and functional groups between AM and ECM plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniel J. Leybourne, Tracy A. Valentine, Kirsty Binnie, Anna Taylor, Alison J. Karley, Jorunn I. B. Bos
Summary: This study examines the relationship between drought and the plant-aphid system, finding that drought has a negative effect on both plant physiology and aphid fitness. The study also provides evidence that plant resistance influences aphid responses to drought stress. The expression of defensive compounds in plants plays an important role in determining the success of aphid populations. This study highlights the importance of plant defense mechanisms in mediating interactions between the environment, plants, and herbivorous insects.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhen Liu, Shen Cheng, Xiao-Qing Liu, Kamil Kuca, Abeer Hashem, Al-Bandari Fahad F. Al-Arjani, Khalid Almutairi, Elsayed Fathi Abd Allah, Qiang-Sheng Wu, Ying-Ning Zou
Summary: This study cloned a CHS gene from trifoliate orange and analyzed its biological information and partial functions. PtCHS was found to be highly expressed in stems, leaves and flowers, but lowly expressed in roots and seeds. Soil water deficit up-regulated expressions of PtCHS in leaves. An arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus significantly increased plant biomass production, CHS activity, expressions of PtCHS, and total flavonoid content in leaves and roots, independent of soil water status.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yakir Preisler, Fedor Tatarinov, Jose M. Grunzweig, Dan Yakir
Summary: The study identified three stages leading to tree mortality: decrease in tree diameter, loss of stem radial water flow, and cessation of stem sap flow. These stages demonstrated the differential effects of drought on stem growth, water storage capacity, and soil water uptake, highlighting the critical role of breakdown of stem radial water flow in defining the point of no return in tree mortality events.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Alison J. Popay, Joanne G. Jensen, Wayne R. Simpson, Wade J. Mace, Chanatda Somchit
Summary: Aphids, which are major pests of cereal and pasture grasses worldwide, can be controlled by the loline alkaloids produced by Epichloe endophytes in certain grass species. However, these alkaloids do not affect aphids infesting Elymus species. The loline production in rye and meadow fescue is partitioned in the xylem, making it inaccessible to aphids.
Article
Ecology
Shamina Imran Pathan, Paola Ganugi, Paola Arfaioli, Alberto Masoni, Giacomo Pietramellara
Summary: Water deficit is an important climate event that affects the functionality of agricultural ecosystems. This study investigated the influence of mycorrhizal affinity of two durum wheat varieties on root and soil bacteriomes under well watered and drought conditions, and found that both AMF colonization and host plant colonization affinity play a role in alleviating drought-induced changes in wheat plants.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Horticulture
Yu Wang, Ying-Ning Zou, Bo Shu, Qiang-Sheng Wu
Summary: Soil drought is a significant abiotic stress that severely affects plant growth and physiological activities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the soil can enhance plant adaptability and tolerance to drought stress by establishing a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. Research on how AM fungi enhance host drought tolerance has focused on physiological mechanisms, with molecular mechanisms being less studied. However, recent experiments have increasingly explored the molecular mechanisms. This review examines the functional and regulatory genes involved in AM fungi-modulated drought tolerance and highlights their roles in physiological activities such as osmoregulation, water and nutrient transport, hormones, and signal transduction. It also discusses how mycorrhizal plants regulate plant drought tolerance through transcription factors and prospects for future research on the interaction of signal pathways in gene regulation of mycorrhizal plants.
SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rebecca A. Bunn, Pedro M. Antunes, Lorinda S. Bullington, Catherine Fahey, Ylva Lekberg
Summary: Soil biota, such as root-associating fungal mutualists and pathogens, have a context-dependent effect on plant-plant interactions, especially in the case of invasive plants like Centaurea stoebe. Soil moisture and the presence of native competitors also play a role in moderating the abundance and composition of soil biota, further influencing the growth and competitiveness of C. stoebe.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juan Manuel Ruiz-Lozano, Gabriela Quiroga, Gorka Erice, Jacob Perez-Tienda, Angel Maria Zamarreno, Jose Maria Garcia-Mina, Ricardo Aroca
Summary: This study investigates the impact of drought stress on maize plants and explores the role of aquaporins and hormones in the plants' response to drought. The results indicate that aquaporins and hormones are altered by the interaction between the maize plants and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, and they play a significant role in the physiological responses of the plants to drought stress.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Alena Blazkova, Jan Jansa, David Puschel, Miroslav Vosatka, Martina Janouskova
Summary: This study found that the proportions of different AM fungal taxa in communities can influence the benefits to host plants. A 'functionally optimized' community with naturally established ratios of AM fungal species was more beneficial for plant growth than artificially manipulated communities. The functional differences between the communities were related to the abundances of certain AM fungal species, highlighting the importance of species' abundances within AM fungal communities for promoting plant growth.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Neila Abdi, Angeline van Biljon, Chrisna Steyn, Maryke Tine Labuschagne
Summary: AM inoculation can enhance drought tolerance in wheat by improving plant morphology and physiological parameters, reducing oxidative stress, increasing accumulation of soluble sugars, decreasing electrolyte leakage, and enhancing the activities of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase.
Article
Forestry
Yu-E Ding, Ying-Ning Zou, Qiang-Sheng Wu, Kamil Kuca
Summary: The present study found that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can regulate the circadian clock in trifoliate orange plants under drought conditions. AMF inoculation significantly improved plant growth, photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, and increased ABA levels and antioxidant enzyme gene expression in the roots.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ewelina Paluch-Lubawa, Barbara Prosicka, Wladyslaw Polcyn
Summary: This study investigates the effect of Rhizophagus irregularis on the expression of plasma membrane aquaporin isoforms in maize leaves under severe drought conditions. The findings show that the regulation of aquaporins by mycorrhiza is dependent on leaf position and is closely related to photosynthesis and stomatal response to drought. The results suggest that mycorrhiza protects the leaves from drought effects by preventing the down-regulation of aquaporins, leading to improved stomatal conductance and faster restoration of photosynthetic capability.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeanne Friedrichs, Rabea Schweiger, Caroline Mueller
Summary: This study investigated the metabolic pathways and products of different glucosinolates in the herbivorous insect Phaedon cochleariae. The results showed differences in metabolism between adults and larvae, with metabolism primarily occurring via isothiocyanates. This detoxification strategy through conjugation with amino acids is unique to Brassicaceae-feeders.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ann-Cathrin Voss, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Muller
Summary: Numerous pesticides are applied to crop plants annually, including fungicides, which may affect plant metabolism and crop quality. This study investigated the effects of two fungicides on the metabolism of strawberry cultivars and wild strawberries, specifically focusing on primary and specialized metabolites that contribute to fruit flavor. The fungicide treatment significantly impacted several metabolites, indicating potential changes in taste and quality of strawberries when treated with fungicides.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lai Ka Lo, R. Reshma, Lisa Johanna Tewes, Barbara Milutinovic, Caroline Mueller, Joachim Kurtz
Summary: Group-living individuals face high risks of disease transmission and parasite infection. Research has found that in social and some non-social insects, immune control is achieved not only through individual immune defenses, but also through infochemicals such as contact cues and defensive volatiles, which help mount a group-level immunity. However, it is still not well understood whether activation of the immune system leads to changes in chemical phenotypes that mediate these responses.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Martin Aguirrebengoa, Caroline Mueller, Peter A. Hamback, Adela Gonzalez-Megias
Summary: Plants have to regulate their responses to multiple herbivores to deal with a wide range of threats. In particular, they often face simultaneous root and floral herbivory, but few studies have focused on this interaction. This study investigated the combined density-dependent effects of root-chewing beetle larvae and flower-chewing caterpillars on the fitness and defense of a semiarid Brassicaceae herb. The results showed that the impact of both herbivore groups on plant fitness was independent and density-dependent. Increasing root herbivore density had a non-significant effect on plant fitness, while increasing floral herbivore density had a non-linear negative effect on seed number and seedling emergence. Plant defensive response was non-additive and varied with the densities of root and floral herbivores, showing compensatory investment in reproduction at high floral herbivore density and aboveground chemical defense induction at high root herbivore density.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rohit Sasidharan, Robert R. Junker, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Plants use floral displays to attract mutually beneficial organisms and deter attackers. These displays include attractive or repellent floral volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) that can be detected from a distance. Locally, visitors perceive contact chemicals including nutrients and deterrent or toxic constituents of pollen and nectar. This review examines the composition of FVOCs and non-volatile floral chemicals, such as pollen nutrients and toxins, and their effects on insect detection and behavior. The study finds that florivores can detect more FVOCs than pollinators, and frequently tested FVOCs are often reported as attractive to pollinators and repellent to florivores.
Article
Microbiology
Paul Gaube, Polina Marchenko, Caroline Mueller, Rabea Schweiger, Raimund Tenhaken, Alexander Keller, Robert R. Junker
Summary: Microbes associated with flowers and leaves affect plant health and fitness and modify the chemical phenotypes of plants with consequences for interactions of plants with their environment. However, the drivers of bacterial communities colonizing above-ground parts of grassland plants in the field remain largely unknown.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Rocky Putra, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Some plant species can tolerate and accumulate high levels of metals or metalloids in their tissues as a defense mechanism. These plants also synthesize specialized metabolites that act as organic defenses. The variation in the composition and concentration of these metabolites, known as chemodiversity, has received little attention in the elemental defense hypothesis.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rabea Schweiger, Alena-Maria Maidel, Tilo Renziehausen, Romy Schmidt-Schippers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: With changes in climate, the frequency of drought-waterlogging-redrying cycles will increase. This study investigated the effects of these cycles on wheat plants, focusing on biomass, photosynthesis, metabolites, and gene expression. The results showed that drought and waterlogging significantly reduced plant biomass. Transcript analysis revealed different gene expression patterns in response to these stressors. The findings provide insights into how wheat plants cope with changes in water regimes.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Dominik Ziaja, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Some plant species exhibit a high diversity in phytochemicals, which may contribute to their defense against herbivory. However, it is unclear whether individual plant's resistance to herbivores is determined by its own chemodiversity or by the chemodiversity of nearby plants. To investigate this, the researchers studied the role of chemodiversity in the interaction between Tanacetum vulgare plants and aphids.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Correction
Ecology
Jeanne Friedrichs, Rabea Schweiger, Svenja Geisler, Judith M. Neumann, Sullivan J. M. Sadzik, Karsten Niehaus, Caroline Mueller
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Pragya Singh, Jonas Wolthaus, Holger Schielzeth, Caroline Mueller
Summary: State variables, such as body condition, have an impact on behavioural traits. The effect of starvation on behaviour varies across different life stages. Starvation in larvae led to shorter postcontact immobility duration and higher activity levels, while starved adults were less active. Behavioural repeatability was found in both life stages, but starvation did not have a significant effect on the estimates.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rocky Putra, Max Toelle, Ute Kraemer, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Soil pollution by metals and metalloids due to industrialization has a detrimental effect on ecosystems. Certain plant species called hyperaccumulators can accumulate high concentrations of these metals and metalloids in their aboveground tissues, acting as a defense against various antagonists. This study investigates the effects of metal(loid)s on defense traits in the hyperaccumulator plant species Arabidopsis halleri by artificially amending the soil with cadmium and zinc, and supplementing with silicon. The results show significant effects of metal amendment and silicon supplementation on foliar concentrations of certain elements, as well as on organic and mechanical defenses.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Dussarrat, Rabea Schweiger, Dominik Ziaja, Thuan T. N. Nguyen, Liv Krause, Ruth Jakobs, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Intraspecific plant chemodiversity plays a crucial role in plant-environment interactions. Chemotypes can be defined based on the variation in dominant specialized metabolites. Maternal origin is found to be a higher source of chemical variation than chemotype. Computational models incorporating inherited variation in key terpenoids and other metabolites can help connect chemodiversity and evolutionary principles.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Silvia Eckert, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Ruth Jakobs, Redouan Adam Anaia, Kruthika Sen Aragam, Tanja Bloss, Moritz Popp, Rohit Sasidharan, Joerg-Peter Schnitzler, Florian Stein, Anke Steppuhn, Sybille B. Unsicker, Nicole M. van Dam, Sol Yepes, Dominik Ziaja, Caroline Mueller
Summary: In this study, the reproducibility of VOC collections and analyses was investigated in a ring trial involving five laboratories. The results showed that despite efforts to standardize each VOC measurement step, there were still differences in the outcomes both qualitatively and quantitatively. These findings reveal sources of variation in plant VOC research and can help avoid systematic errors in similar experiments.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ann-Cathrin Voss, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Numerous pesticides, including fungicides, are applied every year to crop plants, which may affect plant metabolism and thus crop quality. The present study tested the effects of two fungicides on the metabolism of two cultivars and the wild strawberry, focusing on primary and specialized metabolites that determine fruit flavor. The fungicide treatment significantly affected a number of metabolites, indicating potential changes in taste and quality of strawberries.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
