Wang Xinlei, Wang Sha, Basit Ali, Wei Qianchen, Zhao Kedi, Liu Feng, Zhao Yiying
College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
Microorganisms. 2025 Mar 6;13(3):608. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13030608.
Endosymbiotic bacteria play a significant role in the co-evolution of insects and plants. However, whether they induce or inhibit host plant defense responses remains unclear. In this study, non-targeted metabolomic sequencing was performed on cotton leaves fed with -infected and uninfected spider mites using parthenogenetic backcrossing and antibiotic treatment methods. A total of 55 differential metabolites were identified, which involved lipids, phenylpropanoids, and polyketides. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed seven significantly enriched metabolic pathways. Among them, flavonoid and flavonol biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and ether lipid metabolism showed extremely significant differences. In -infected cotton leaves, the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway was significantly up-regulated, including quercetin and myricetin, suggesting that the plant produces more secondary metabolites to enhance its defense capability. Glycerophosphocholine (GPC) and sn-glycerol-3-phosphoethanolamine (PE) were significantly down-regulated, suggesting that may impair the integrity and function of plant cell membranes. The downregulation of lysine and the upregulation of L-malic acid indicated that infection may shorten the lifespan of spider mites. At various developmental stages of the spider mites, infection increased the expression of detoxification metabolism-related genes, including gene families such as cytochrome P450, glutathione S-transferase, carboxylesterase, and ABC transporters, thereby enhancing the detoxification capability of the host spider mites. This study provides a theoretical basis for further elucidating the mechanisms by which endosymbiotic bacteria induce plant defense responses and expands the theoretical framework of insect-plant co-evolution.
内共生细菌在昆虫与植物的共同进化中发挥着重要作用。然而，它们是诱导还是抑制宿主植物的防御反应仍不清楚。在本研究中，使用孤雌生殖回交和抗生素处理方法，对取食感染和未感染叶螨的棉花叶片进行了非靶向代谢组测序。共鉴定出55种差异代谢物，涉及脂质、苯丙烷类化合物和聚酮化合物。KEGG通路富集分析揭示了7条显著富集的代谢途径。其中，黄酮类和黄酮醇生物合成、甘油磷脂代谢和醚脂代谢表现出极显著差异。在感染叶螨的棉花叶片中，黄酮类生物合成途径显著上调，包括槲皮素和杨梅素，这表明植物产生更多次生代谢物以增强其防御能力。甘油磷酸胆碱（GPC）和sn-甘油-3-磷酸乙醇胺（PE）显著下调，这表明叶螨感染可能损害植物细胞膜的完整性和功能。赖氨酸下调和L-苹果酸上调表明叶螨感染可能缩短叶螨的寿命。在叶螨的各个发育阶段，叶螨感染增加了解毒代谢相关基因的表达，包括细胞色素P450、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶、羧酸酯酶和ABC转运蛋白等基因家族，从而增强了宿主叶螨的解毒能力。本研究为进一步阐明内共生细菌诱导植物防御反应的机制提供了理论依据，并扩展了昆虫-植物共同进化的理论框架。
