Fatty acid metabolites of Dendrobium nobile were positively correlated with representative endophytic fungi at altitude

Yongxia Zhao; Lin Qin; Daopeng Tan; Di Wu; Xingdong Wu; Qingjie Fan; Chaojun Bai; Jiyong Yang; Jian Xie; Yuqi He

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1128956

Fatty acid metabolites of Dendrobium nobile were positively correlated with representative endophytic fungi at altitude

Front Microbiol. 2023 Apr 27:14:1128956. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1128956. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yongxia Zhao^{1

2

3}, Lin Qin^{1

2

3}, Daopeng Tan^{1

2

3}, Di Wu^{1

2

3}, Xingdong Wu^{1

2

3}, Qingjie Fan^{1

2

3}, Chaojun Bai⁴, Jiyong Yang⁵, Jian Xie^{1

2

3}, Yuqi He^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Guizhou Engineering Research Center of Industrial Key-technology for Dendrobium Nobile and Engineering Research Center of Pharmaceutical Orchid Plant Breeding and High Efficiency Application in Guizhou Province, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
² Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Ministry of Education and Joint International Research Laboratory of Ethnomedicine of Ministry of Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
³ 2011 Cooperative Inovational Center for Guizhou Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ethnic Medicine Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
⁴ Guangxi Shenli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Yulin, China.
⁵ Chishui Xintian Chinese Medicine Industry Development Co., Ltd, Zunyi, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Altitude, as a comprehensive ecological factor, regulates the growth and development of plants and microbial distribution. Dendrobium nobile (D. nobile) planted in habitats at different elevations in Chishui city, also shows metabolic differences and endophytes diversity. What is the triangular relationship between altitude, endophytes, and metabolites?

Methods: In this study, the diversity and species of endophytic fungi were tested by ITS sequencing and metabolic differences in plants were tested by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Elevation regulated the colonization of plant endophytic fungal species and fatty acid metabolites in D. nobile.

Results: The results indicate that and high altitude was better for the accumulation of fatty acid metabolites. Therefore, the high-altitude characteristic endophytic floras were screened, and the correlation with fatty acid metabolites of plants was built. The colonization of T. rubrigenum, P. Incertae sedis unclassified, Phoma. cf. nebulosa JZG 2008 and Basidiomycota unclassified showed a significantly positive correlation with fatty acid metabolites, especially 18-carbon-chain fatty acids, such as (6Z,9Z,12Z)-octadeca-6,9,12-trienoic acid, 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-12-oxohexadeca-2,4-dienoic acid and Octadec-9-en-12-ynoic acid. What is more fascinating is these fatty acids are the essential substrates of plant hormones.

Discussion: Consequently, it was speculated that the D. nobile- colonizing endophytic fungi stimulated or upregulated the synthesis of fatty acid metabolites and even some plant hormones, thus affecting the metabolism and development of D. nobile.

Keywords: Dendrobium nobile; altitude; endophytic fungi; fatty acids; metabolites.