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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Monitoring through secondary metabolites as essential oils is informative on both plant states and their
living conditions. Our research examined the effect of an abiotic factor (mild water stress) on a specific
plant species (Ocimum basilicum L.). This drought condition was tested with plants inoculated with a
symbiotic fungus (Glomus intraradices), to check if it ameliorated, in terms of biomass, the consequences of drought. Furthermore, and less frequently found in literature, this study had into account two
different stages of development, with two harvests. The responses to these conditions were assessed
through the analysis of the chemical profile of the essential oil.
A factorial randomized complete block design was carried out in a greenhouse. The plants were inoculated with the mycorrhizal fungi and were irrigated with water in each plot without creating any water
stress until the plants reached an average height of 28-30cm. The water stress level stipulated (60% Field
Capacity) and control was maintained by the gravimetric weight method, and functional traits (height,
root and shoot fresh weight) were measured regularly. After one month of inoculation, root fragments
were randomly taken from the plants to check for the rate of colonization with trypan blue technique.
Plant material was distillated and essential oil was extracted and analyzed.
Inoculated plants subjected to mild water stress had a higher height and shoot biomass than non-inoculated water-stressed plants. Regarding chemical compounds, it was seen a typical signature, of a stress
response by non-inoculated and inoculated water-stressed plants, a significantly high relative percentage of the phenylpropanoid content diverging from control condition plants. This de novo biosynthesis
permits a well-balanced trade-off which permits growth without excluding defense responses, since
lignin and phenylpropanoid synthesis share the same metabolic pathway. However, when water stress
duration was kept and extended, the chemical compounds proportion (CCP) revealed an acclimatization
or tolerance to the stress applied, as differences in content and chemical compounds proportion weren’t significant between control and drought-stressed plants. Hence, independently of the water status,
neither inoculated plants revealed significant changes in CCP in the flowering stage in comparison with
control plants.
Stressed-out symbiosis might be useful to monitor peaks and stabilization of chemical compounds synthesis of plants in specific environments, thus giving a hint about how the plant is adapting to new
environmental conditions. Nevertheless, to better dissect the plant metabolic regulatory networks multiple-omics analysis would be required.
Finally, the study’s results might be useful to improve the productivity, cultivation monitoring of basil in
the increasing warmer climates, with less input of agrochemicals and water in Mediterranean regions.
Description
Keywords
Secondary metabolism Abiotic stress Glomus intraradices Phentylpropanoids Terpenes
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Mota, Iris; Pedro, Luís G.; Sousa, Maria João; Sánchez-Sánchez, José (2019). Stressed-out symbiosis: monitoring biodiversity through chemical fingerprints. In 9º Congreso de Biología de la Conservación de Plantas. Granada
Publisher
Universidad de Granada