engleski

Increase in phenolics content as a biomarker of late infection with flavescence dorée phytoplasma in grapevine

Due to inability to culture phytoplasmas in vitro in a pure culture, our knowledge of them is still limited. Nevertheless, their negative impact on agricultural production worldwide is prominent. Phytoplasmas are bacterial parasites which belong to the genus ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ and infect a wide variety of plants and insects. Among infecting other agriculturally important plant species, they are known to heavily affect viticultural production. Phytoplasmas have a variety of effector molecules which help them modify host physiological processes in order to promote their reproduction and transmission. However, plant responses to phytoplasma infection remain insufficiently investigated. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of infection with the flavescence doreé phytoplasma on the phenolic profile of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) leaves. Infection with the flavescence doreé phytoplasma was confirmed in symptomatic plants using the multiplex real-time PCR assay. The content of groups of phenolic metabolites was evaluated in grapevine leaves sampled at the three time points during the development of infection. Results revealed the lower content of most groups of phenolic compounds at the first time point. However, the content of total phenolic acids was higher at the first time point in leaves of infected plants compared to the uninfected leaves. At the third time point, content of all phenolics groups was higher in infected plants. Results point to induction of phenolic biosynthesis in infected plants at a late stage of infection, pointing to phenolic compounds as a biomarker of late stages of grapevine infection with the flavescence doreé phytoplasma.

grapevine, phenolics, phenolic acids, phytoplasmas

nije evidentirano