Magnaporthe oryzae systemic defense trigger 1 (MoSDT1)-mediated metabolites regulate defense response in Rice

BACKGROUND: Some of the pathogenic effector proteins play an active role in stimulating the plant defense system to strengthen plant resistance. RESULTS: In this study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS) was implemented to identify altered metabolites in transgenic rice containing over-expressed M. oryzae Systemic Defense Trigger 1 (MoSDT1) that was infected at three-time points. The characterized dominating metabolites were organic acids and their derivatives, organic oxygen compounds, lipids, and lipid-like molecules. Among the identified metabolites, shikimate, galactinol, trehalose, D-mannose, linolenic acid, dopamine, tyramine, and L-glutamine are precursors for the synthesis of many secondary defense metabolites Carbohydrate, as well as amino acid metabolic, pathways were revealed to be involved in plant defense responses and resistance strengthening. CONCLUSION: The increasing salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) content enhanced interactions between JA synthesis/signaling gene, SA synthesis/receptor gene, raffinose/fructose/sucrose synthase gene, and cell wall-related genes all contribute to defense response in rice. The symptoms of rice after M. oryzae infection were significantly alleviated when treated with six identified metabolites, i.e., galactol, tyramine, L-glutamine, L-tryptophan, α-terpinene, and dopamine for 72 h exogenously. Therefore, these metabolites could be utilized as an optimal metabolic marker for M. oryzae defense. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-020-02821-6.