Insights into the Intraspecific Variability of the above and Belowground Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds in Tomato.

Nafissa Dehimeche,Michael Staudt,Nadia Bertin,Bruno Buatois

doi:10.3390/molecules26010237

Abstract

The in-vivo monitoring of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions is a potential non-invasive tool in plant protection, especially in greenhouse cultivation. We studied VOC production from above and belowground organs of the eight parents of the Multi-Parent Advanced Generation Intercross population (MAGIC) tomato population, which exhibits a high genetic variability, in order to obtain more insight into the variability of constitutive VOC emissions from tomato plants under stress-free conditions. Foliage emissions were composed of terpenes, the majority of which were also stored in the leaves. Foliage emissions were very low, partly light-dependent, and differed significantly among genotypes, both in quantity and quality. Soil with roots emitted VOCs at similar, though more variable, rates than foliage. Soil emissions were characterized by terpenes, oxygenated alkanes, and alkenes and phenolic compounds, only a few of which were found in root extracts at low concentrations. Correlation analyses revealed that several VOCs emitted from foliage or soil are jointly regulated and that above and belowground sources are partially interconnected. With respect to VOC monitoring in tomato crops, our results underline that genetic variability, light-dependent de-novo synthesis, and belowground sources are factors to be considered for successful use in crop monitoring.

Highlights

Like all living organisms, plants exchange a huge number of volatile metabolites with their environment at their aboveground and belowground organs [1]
In order to gain more insight and provide new references for further studies, we investigated the genetic variability of constitutive volatile organic compound (VOC) production in vegetative tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
The present study revealed that constitutive VOC emissions of intact tomato foliage are mainly composed of monoterpenes and a few sesquiterpenes that are only released at low rates ranging between 5 and 20 ng m−2 s−1

Summary

Introduction

Plants exchange a huge number of volatile metabolites with their environment at their aboveground and belowground organs [1]. More than 1700 organic gases, collectively referred to as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), are currently known to be produced and released by plants. Under detrimental life conditions and biotic aggressions, plants release a large variety of stress-induced VOCs, whose blend depends on the type and intensity of stress [2] and the inherent capacity of the plant to produce these [3]. Stress-induced VOCs are simple byproducts of tissue damages, but many of them are produced by specialized enzymes that are activated in response to the aggressors as part of a local or systemic reaction cascade [4]. VOCs that are released into the atmosphere or soil are involved in within-plant and between plant stress signaling [6,7]. Plant VOCs affect the food web by serving as cues for herbivores to localize their host plants, or as a food source for microbes in both the rhizosphere and phyllosphere [8,9,10]

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