Nicotinamide Effectively Suppresses Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat Plants.

Yasir Sidiq,Masataka Nakano,Yumi Mori,Makoto Kimura,Takashi Yaeno,Takumi Nishiuchi

doi:10.3390/ijms22062968

Abstract

Pyridine nucleotides such as a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) are known as plant defense activators. We previously reported that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) enhanced disease resistance against fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum in barley and Arabidopsis. In this study, we reveal that the pretreatment of nicotinamide (NIM), which does not contain nucleotides, effectively suppresses disease development of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) in wheat plants. Correspondingly, deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin accumulation was also significantly decreased by NIM pretreatment. A metabolome analysis showed that several antioxidant and antifungal compounds such as trigonelline were significantly accumulated in the NIM-pretreated spikes after inoculation of F. graminearum. In addition, some metabolites involved in the DNA hypomethylation were accumulated in the NIM-pretreated spikes. On the other hand, fungal metabolites DON and ergosterol peroxide were significantly reduced by the NIM pretreatment. Since NIM is relative stable and inexpensive compared with NMN and NAD, it may be more useful for the control of symptoms of FHB and DON accumulation in wheat and other crops.

Highlights

Plants defend themselves against various pathogens by both of chemical and physical defense systems [1]
We found that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), was highly accumulated in Fusarium head blight (FHB)-resistant barley cultivars [17]
We examined whether NMN and related metabolite NIM were effective in suppressing the disease symptoms of FHB and DON accumulation in wheat spikes

Summary

Introduction

Plants defend themselves against various pathogens by both of chemical and physical defense systems [1]. Antimicrobial compounds which accumulate due to pathogen challenge are known as phytoalexins [2]. Phytopathogens often overcome plant chemical defenses and enter the plant tissue. Biochemicals such as pesticides and fungicides are useful for the control of crop diseases [3,4]. The foods derived from agrochemical-contaminated crops often present health hazards to humans and domestic animals [5]. Fungicide- and pesticide-resistant pathogen strains have been widely reported [6]. Plant defense activators induce the plant’s immune response

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Conclusion