Integrated metabolic profile of Prunus persica leaves exhibiting peach leaf curl disease

NOVELLO, MARIA ANGELINA; BUSTAMANTE, CLAUDIA; BROTMAN, YARIF; FERNIE, ALISDAIR R; SVETAZ, LAURA; GOLDY; CAMILA; VALENTINI, GABRIEL; DRINCOVICH, MARÍA FABIANA; LARA, MARÍA VALERIA

Mendoza

Congreso; LVIII Annual Meeting of the Argentine Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research; 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular

Prunus persica (L.) is a species of great economic importance due to its tasty fruit. Several conditions affect its production; among them, the biotrophic fungus Taphrina deformans causes the peach leaf curl disease. This worldwide-distributed disease generates losses ranging between 2.5 and 3 million dollars per year. The characteristic symptoms in leaves include pink pigmentation, thickening and leaf curling.In this work, healthy leaves (G0) and leaves exhibiting an advanced degree of the disease were collected from naturally infected trees in the orchard. Using sick leaves, symptomatic areas (GC) were carefully dissected from the asymptomatic regions (GN) and both fractions were used in the analysis. In order to understand the metabolic changes triggered by the fungus in infected leaves, lipidomic, metabolomic and a proteomic analysis, complemented with other biochemical determinations, were carried out. Comparison between healthy leaves and symptomatic or asymptomatic tissue were made.Lipidomics conducted by UPLC-MS showed a disturbance of the lipid composition in sick tissue. Whereas the relative levels of digalactosyl-diacylglicerols did not significantly change in GN or GC with respect to G0, monogalactosyl-diacylglicerols levels were generally induced in GN samples. Plastidic sulfoquinovosyl-diacylglycerols (34:3, 36:3 and 36:6) decreased in GC with respect to GN. Furthermore, most of the triacylglycerols (TAG) relative levels were modified in infected tissue with respect to healthy one. TAGs with low number of unsaturations tended to increase in symptomatic tissue while the levels of TAGs with a high number of unsaturations were decreased in symptomatic tissue with respect to healthy leaves. Metabolomics profiling conducted by GC-MS together with other biochemical measurements and the study of the proteome by LC-MS-MS, revealed a decrease in photosynthesis, carbon fixation and synthesis of photoassimilates as accounted by decreases in sucrose, sorbitol, starch and other sugars and alcohol sugars in symptomatic tissue with respect to healthy tissue. Concomitantly, it was observed an induction of enzymes involved in the glycolytic, fermentative and Krebs cycle pathways, which provide energy from carbohydrates. On the other hand, while most of the amino acids decreased in symptomatic tissue with respect to healthy leaves, asparagine was largely increased. Principal component analysis showed that asymptomatic areas are closer to healthy tissue than to the symptomatic areas. Collectively, data obtained reveal an alteration in the chloroplast functioning of leaves exhibiting “peach leaf curl disease” and give cues of the changes in the metabolism that occur in the diseased tissue. In addition, information obtained expands our knowledge of the interaction between P. persica and T. deformans