Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Chemistry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #353005
Research Project: Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Biotic and Abiotic Stress on Plant Defense Responses in Maize

Location: Chemistry Research

Title: Exploring the metabolic variation between domesticated and wild tetraploid wheat genotypes in response to corn leaf aphid infestation

Author
item CHANDRASEKHAR, KOTTAKOTA - Ben Gurion University Of Negev
item SHAVIT, R - Ben Gurion University Of Negev
item DISTEFELD, ASSAF - Tel Aviv University
item Christensen, Shawn
item TZIN, VERED - Ben Gurion University Of Negev

Submitted to: Plant Signaling and Behavior
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/31/2018
Publication Date: 6/26/2018
Citation: Chandrasekhar, K., Shavit, R., Distefeld, A., Christensen, S.A., Tzin, V. 2018. Exploring the metabolic variation between domesticated and wild tetraploid wheat genotypes in response to corn leaf aphid infestation. Plant Signaling and Behavior. 13(6):1-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2018.1486148.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2018.1486148

Interpretive Summary: Wheat is one of the world’s most cultivated small grain crops, providing 20% of the world’s calorie and protein consumption. Despite large investments in pesticides to control damage due to insect attack, dramatic losses in yield continue to occur. USDA-ARS Scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, FL, in collaboration with the Ilse Katz Institute in Beer-Sheva, Israel examined domesticated and wild emmer wheat cultivars to identify resistance factors to the common pest, corn leaf aphid. Through chemical analysis, we observed major differences between the domesticated and wild emmer cultivars, including important plant defense metabolites such as jasmonic acid. The knowledge generated from this comparative study will contribute to molecular breeding strategies that will benefit wheat growers by promoting natural resistance to insects such as the corn leaf aphid.

Technical Abstract: Infestation of Triticum (wheat) plants by the natural enemy Rhopalosiphum maidis (corn leaf aphid) causes severe vegetative damage. Despite the agro-economic importance of wheat, the metabolic diversity of Triticum turgidum (tetraploid wheat) in response to aphid attack has not been sufficiently addressed. In this study, we compared the metabolic diversity of two tetraploid wheat genotypes, domesticated and wild emmer. The plants were grown in a control growth room and infested with aphids for 96 hr. Our untargeted metabolic analysis performed on plants with and without aphids revealed massive differences between the two genotypes. The targeted metabolic analysis highlighted the differences in the biosynthesis of phytohormones. The aphid progeny was lower in the cultivated durum wheat than the wild emmer wheat. Overall, these observations emphasize the potential of using the natural diversity of wheat species to better understand the metabolic responses to pest damage.