Metabolic and miRNA profiling of TMV infected plants reveals biphasic temporal changes

PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e28466. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028466. Epub 2011 Dec 12.

Abstract

Plant viral infections induce changes including gene expression and metabolic components. Identification of metabolites and microRNAs (miRNAs) differing in abundance along infection may provide a broad view of the pathways involved in signaling and defense that orchestrate and execute the response in plant-pathogen interactions. We used a systemic approach by applying both liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to determine the relative level of metabolites across the viral infection, together with a miRs profiling using a micro-array based procedure. Systemic changes in metabolites were characterized by a biphasic response after infection. The first phase, detected at one dpi, evidenced the action of a systemic signal since no virus was detected systemically. Several of the metabolites increased at this stage were hormone-related. miRs profiling after infection also revealed a biphasic alteration, showing miRs alteration at 5 dpi where no virus was detected systemically and a late phase correlating with virus accumulation. Correlation analyses revealed a massive increase in the density of correlation networks after infection indicating a complex reprogramming of the regulatory pathways, either in response to the plant defense mechanism or to the virus infection itself. Our data propose the involvement of a systemic signaling on early miRs alteration.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / metabolism
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Nicotiana / genetics
  • Nicotiana / metabolism*
  • Nicotiana / virology*
  • Plant Diseases / genetics*
  • Plant Diseases / virology
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Time Factors
  • Tobacco Mosaic Virus / physiology*

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • MicroRNAs