Combined metabolome and transcriptome analysis reveal the mechanism of eugenol inhibition of Aspergillus carbonarius growth in table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

Nan Jiang; Liuqing Wang; Dongmei Jiang; Meng Wang; Hang Yu; Weirong Yao

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112934

Combined metabolome and transcriptome analysis reveal the mechanism of eugenol inhibition of Aspergillus carbonarius growth in table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

Food Res Int. 2023 Aug:170:112934. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112934. Epub 2023 May 3.

Authors

Nan Jiang¹, Liuqing Wang², Dongmei Jiang², Meng Wang², Hang Yu³, Weirong Yao⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, No. 9 Middle Road of Shuguanghuayuan, Haidian District, Beijing 100097, China.
² Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, No. 9 Middle Road of Shuguanghuayuan, Haidian District, Beijing 100097, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: yaoweirongcn@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 37316002
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112934

Abstract

During storage, Aspergillus carbonarius (A. carbonarius) can easily infect grape berries, resulting in a pronounced decline in nutritional value and substantial economic loss for the grape industry. Characterised by broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, eugenol is proven to significantly inhibit A. carbonarius and ochratoxin A (OTA) in vitro. In this study, the potential mechanism of eugenol against A. carbonarius in grapes ('Kyoho') was evaluated using integrative transcriptomic and metabolomics analyses. After eugenol treatment at 50 mM, the inhibition of OTA was reduced by 100%, despite a 56.2% inhibition of A. carbonarius. In the meantime, mycelial growth was completely inhibited by 100 mM eugenol in grape berries. The application of eugenol to grapes stimulated the activity of several enzymes involved in disease resistance, namely catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), chitinase (CHI), β-1,3-glucanase (GLU), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL) and glutathione (GSH) content. In addition, the contents of abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) in eugenol-treated grapes were higher after A. carbonarius inoculation. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis revealed that in phenylpropane biosynthesis, there were a variety of differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the plant hormone signalling pathway changed significantly. Among these, the levels of 47 polyphenol metabolites significantly increased in eugenol-treated grape berries compared to noneugenol-treated berries. Meanwhile, we investigated the transcript levels of 39 genes in 6 phytohormones signalling in response to eugenol-treated grape berries followed by A. carbonarius inoculation. These results suggest that eugenol positively improved the disease resistance of grapes and might be potentially beneficial for the prevention and treatment of A. carbonarius-caused disease.

Keywords: Aspergillus carbonarius; Disease resistance; Eugenol; Metabolome; Transcriptome.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Disease Resistance
Eugenol / pharmacology
Gene Expression Profiling
Metabolome
Vitis*

Substances

Eugenol

Supplementary concepts

Aspergillus carbonarius