Identification of volatile biomarkers for high-throughput sensing of soft rot and Pythium leak diseases in stored potatoes

Worasit Sangjan; Afef Marzougui; D Scott Mattinson; Brenda K Schroeder; Austin A Bates; Lav R Khot; Sindhuja Sankaran

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130910

Identification of volatile biomarkers for high-throughput sensing of soft rot and Pythium leak diseases in stored potatoes

Food Chem. 2022 Feb 15:370:130910. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130910. Epub 2021 Sep 4.

Authors

Worasit Sangjan¹, Afef Marzougui¹, D Scott Mattinson², Brenda K Schroeder³, Austin A Bates³, Lav R Khot⁴, Sindhuja Sankaran⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, 1935 E. Grimes Way, PO Box 646120, Pullman, WA, USA.
² Department of Horticulture, PO Box 646414, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
³ Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 2329, Moscow, ID, USA.
⁴ Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, 1935 E. Grimes Way, PO Box 646120, Pullman, WA, USA; Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, Washington State University, 24106 N. Bunn Road, Prosser, WA, USA.
⁵ Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, 1935 E. Grimes Way, PO Box 646120, Pullman, WA, USA; Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, Washington State University, 24106 N. Bunn Road, Prosser, WA, USA. Electronic address: sindhuja.sankaran@wsu.edu.

PMID: 34788943
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130910

Abstract

Soft rot and Pythium leak are postharvest storage diseases of potato tubers that can cause substantial crop losses in the US. This study focused on detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with rot inoculated tubers during storage (up to 21 days) using headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS) and flame ionization detector (FID) analysis. Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet tubers were inoculated with the rot pathogens. Static sampling with 50 min trapping time followed by GC-MS and GC-FID analysis identified 23 and 30 common VOCs from the pathogen inoculated tubers. Overall, n,n-dimethylmethylamine, acetone, 1-undecene, and styrene, occurred frequently and repeatability in inoculated samples based on GC-MS analysis, with the latter two found using GC-FID analysis as well. Identification of such biomarkers can be useful in developing high-throughput VOC sensing systems for early disease detection in potato storage facilities.

Keywords: Disease detection; Gas chromatography; Headspace sampling; Potato rot; Solid-phase microextraction; Volatile organic compounds.

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Pythium*
Solanum tuberosum*
Solid Phase Microextraction
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

Biomarkers
Volatile Organic Compounds