Journal Article

Melatonin enhances resistance to Botryosphaeria dothidea in pear by promoting jasmonic acid and phlorizin biosynthesis

Li, Dingli, Li, Min, Yang, Yingjie, Cui, Zhenhua, Liu, Jianlong, Zhang, Siying, Wang, Ran, Liang, Chenglin, Xu, Hongpeng, Song, Jiankun

2024

Overview

Ring rot, caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea , is an important fungal disease of pear fruit during postharvest storage. Melatonin, as a plant growth regulator, plays an important role in enhancing the stress resistance of pear fruits. It enhances the resistance of pear fruits to ring rot by enhancing their antioxidant capacity. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of melatonin on the growth of B. dothidea . Results showed that melatonin did not limit the growth of B. dothidea during in vitro culture. However, metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses of ‘Whangkeumbae’ pear ( Pyrus pyrifolia ) revealed that melatonin increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), in the fruit and activated the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway to improve fruit resistance. Furthermore, melatonin treatment significantly increased the contents of jasmonic acid and phlorizin in pear fruit, both of which could improve disease resistance. Jasmonic acid regulates melatonin synthesis and can also promote phlorizin synthesis, ultimately improving the resistance of pear fruit to ring rot. In summary, the interaction between melatonin and jasmonic acid and phlorizin enhances the antioxidant defense response and phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway of pear fruit, thereby enhancing the resistance of pear fruit to ring rot disease. Our results provide new insights into the application of melatonin in the resistance to pear fruit ring rot.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Abiotic stress / Acid resistance / Acids / Agricultural research / Agriculture / Antibodies / antioxidant activity / Antioxidants / Antioxidants - metabolism / Ascomycota - physiology / biochemical pathways / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biosynthesis / Botryosphaeria / Botryosphaeria dothidea / catechol oxidase / Chemical properties / Control / Cyclopentanes - metabolism / Cyclopentanes - pharmacology / Disease / Disease resistance / Disease Resistance - drug effects / Diseases and pests / Electron microscopes / Enzymes / Flavonoids / Fruit - metabolism / Fruit - microbiology / Fruit rot / Fruits / Fungal diseases / fungi / Fungi, Pathogenic / Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects / Growth regulators / Infections / Jasmonates / Jasmonic acid / Life Sciences / Lignin / Melatonin / Melatonin - metabolism / Melatonin - pharmacology / Metabolic pathways / Metabolism / Metabolites / Metabolomics / Oxylipins - metabolism / Pathogens / Pear / pears / Peroxidase / Phenols / Phlorhizin - pharmacology / Phlorizin / Physiological aspects / Plant Diseases - microbiology / Plant growth / Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism / plant growth substances / Plant Sciences / Plant-Pathogen Interactions / Polyphenol oxidase / Polyphenols / postharvest storage / Pyrus - genetics / Pyrus - metabolism / Pyrus - microbiology / Pyrus pyrifolia / Ring rot / Signal transduction / stress tolerance / Superoxide dismutase / Transcriptomics / Tree Biology