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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #197535
Title: Genomic Approaches to Understanding Allelochemical Effects on Plants

Author
item Duke, Stephen
item Baerson, Scott
item Pan, Zhiqiang - Peter
item Kagan, Isabelle
item SANCHEZ-MOREIRAS, ADELA - MAX-PLANCK INSTITUTE
item REIGOSA, MANUEL - UNIVERSIDADE DE VIGO
item PEDROL, NURIA - SERIDA - SPAIN
item SCHULZ, MARGOT - UNIVERSITAT BONN-GERMANY

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2007
Publication Date: 3/15/2008
Citation: Duke, S.O., Baerson, S.R., Pan, Z., Kagan, I., Sanchez-Moreiras, A., Reigosa, M.J., Pedrol, N., Schulz, M. Genomic Approaches to Understanding Allelochemical Effects on Plants. In "Allelopathy in Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry", eds. R.S. Zeng, A.U. Mallik, and S.M. Luo, Springer, New York, NY, pp. 157-167.

Interpretive Summary: Little is known concerning the mode of action of allelochemicals or plant defense responses mounted against them. Theoretically, changes in the expression of genes encoding the primary target or other proteins in the same pathway should occur soon after phytotoxin exposure. Defense responses, such as the induction of genes involved in chemical detoxification, may occur later, depending on the nature of the chemosensors which presumably exist in plant cells. We first used yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to test the concept of transcriptome profiling of toxicant modes of action. Characteristic gene induction profiles related to specific molecular target sites were verified with several fungicides. A battery of xenobiotic defense-associated genes were found to be dramatically induced in Arabidopsis following exposure to an array of structurally unrelated xenobiotics, including a herbicide, an allelochemical, and herbicide safeners. These genes are unlikely to be strongly linked to the mode of action of a specific phytotoxin, but rather constitute a coordinately-controlled xenobiotic defense gene network. Transcriptional profiling experiments using microarrays are being conducted to examine the effects of various herbicides and natural phytotoxins on the Arabidopsis tran-scriptome.

Technical Abstract: Little is known concerning the mode of action of allelochemicals or plant defense responses mounted against them. Theoretically, changes in the expression of genes encoding the primary target or other proteins in the same pathway should occur soon after phytotoxin exposure. Defense responses, such as the induction of genes involved in chemical detoxification, may occur later, depending on the nature of the chemosensors which presumably exist in plant cells. We first used yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to test the concept of transcriptome profiling of toxicant modes of action. Characteristic gene induction profiles related to specific molecular target sites were verified with several fungicides. A battery of xenobiotic defense-associated genes were found to be dramatically induced in Arabidopsis following exposure to an array of structurally unrelated xenobiotics, including a herbicide, an allelochemical, and herbicide safeners. These genes are unlikely to be strongly linked to the mode of action of a specific phytotoxin, but rather constitute a coordinately-controlled xenobiotic defense gene network. Transcriptional profiling experiments using microarrays are being conducted to examine the effects of various herbicides and natural phytotoxins on the Arabidopsis tran-scriptome.