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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1447860

Joint Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Identify Unique Phenolic Acid and Flavonoid Compounds Associated with Resistance to Fusarium wilt in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Provisionally accepted
Kankan Yang Kankan Yang 1,2Geng Zhou Geng Zhou 3,4Chen Chen Chen Chen 3,4*Xiaohong Liu Xiaohong Liu 3,4*Lin Wei Lin Wei 4*FEIYING ZHU FEIYING ZHU 4Zhihuai Liang Zhihuai Liang 4*Huiming Chen Huiming Chen 2,3,4*
  • 1 Hunan University, Changsha, China
  • 2 Graduate School of Hunan University, Long Ping Branch, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 3 Hunan Vegetable Research Institute (HVRI), Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 4 Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Changsha, Hunan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Fusarium wilt (FW) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc) is a destructive soilborne disease in cucumber (Cucumis sativus.L). However, there remains limited knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying FW resistance-mediated defense responses in cucumber. In this study, metabolome and transcriptome profiling were carried out for two FW resistant (NR) and susceptible (NS), near isogenic lines (NILs) before and after Foc inoculation. NILs have shown consistent and stable resistance in multiple resistance tests conducted in the greenhouse and in the laboratory. A widely targeted metabolomic analysis identified differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) with significantly greater NR accumulation in response to Foc infection, including many phenolic acid and flavonoid compounds from the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Transcriptome analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the NILs upon Foc inoculation including genes for secondary metabolite biosynthesis and transcription factor genes regulating the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Joint analysis of the metabolomic and transcriptomic data identified DAMs and DEGs closely associated with the biosynthesis of phenolic acid and flavonoid DAMs. The association of these compounds with NR-conferred FW resistance was exemplified by in vivo assays. These assays found two phenolic acid compounds, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diisooctyl phthalate, as well as the flavonoid compound gallocatechin 3-O-gallate to have significant inhibitory effects on Foc growth. The antifungal effects of these three compounds represent a novel finding. Therefore, phenolic acids and flavonoids play important roles in NR mediated FW resistance breeding in cucumber.

    Keywords: Cucumber 1, Fusarium wilt 2, metabolomic 3, RNA-seq 4, phenolic acid 5, flavonoids 6

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yang, Zhou, Chen, Liu, Wei, ZHU, Liang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chen Chen, Hunan Vegetable Research Institute (HVRI), Changsha, 410125, Hunan Province, China
    Xiaohong Liu, Hunan Vegetable Research Institute (HVRI), Changsha, 410125, Hunan Province, China
    Lin Wei, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Changsha, Hunan, China
    Zhihuai Liang, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Changsha, Hunan, China
    Huiming Chen, Hunan Vegetable Research Institute (HVRI), Changsha, 410125, Hunan Province, China

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