Moritz, Thomas
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Plants have evolved adaptive mechanisms that allow them to tolerate a continuous range of abiotic and biotic stressors. Tropospheric ozone (O-3), a global anthropogenic pollutant, directly affects living organisms and ecosystems, including plant-herbivore interactions. In this study, we investigate the stress responses of Brassica nigra (wild black mustard) exposed consecutively to O-3 and the specialist herbivore Pieris brassicae. Transcriptomics and metabolomics data were evaluated using multivariate, correlation, and network analyses for the O-3 and herbivory responses. O-3 stress symptoms resembled those of senescence and phosphate starvation, while a sequential shift from O-3 to herbivory induced characteristic plant defense responses, including a decrease in central metabolism, induction of the jasmonic acid/ethylene pathways, and emission of volatiles. Omics network and pathway analyses predicted a link between glycerol and central energy metabolism that influences the osmotic stress response and stomatal closure. Further physiological measurements confirmed that while O-3 stress inhibited photosynthesis and carbon assimilation, sequential herbivory counteracted the initial responses induced by O-3, resulting in a phenotype similar to that observed after herbivory alone. This study clarifies the consequences of multiple stress interactions on a plant metabolic system and also illustrates how omics data can be integrated to generate new hypotheses in ecology and plant physiology.
Published in
Plant Physiology
2016, volume: 172, number: 3, pages: 2057-2078
Publisher: AMER SOC PLANT BIOLOGISTS
SLU Authors
Albrectsen, Benedicte
- Umeå University
Associated SLU-program
SLU Plant Protection Network
Global goals (SDG)
UKÄ Subject classification
Botany
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.01318
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/84279