Plant Interactions Research Articles

Disentangling the Belowground Web of Biotic Interactions in Temperate Coastal Grasslands: From Fundamental Knowledge to Novel Applications

Grasslands represent an essential part of terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, coastal grasslands are dominated by the influence of environmental factors resulting from sea–land interaction. Therefore, coastal grasslands are extremely heterogeneous both spatially and temporally. In this review, recent knowledge in the field of biotic interactions in coastal grassland soil is summarized. A detailed analysis of arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis, rhizobial symbiosis, plant–parasitic plant interactions, and plant–plant interactions is performed. The role of particular biotic interactions in the functioning of a coastal grassland ecosystem is characterized. Special emphasis is placed on future directions and development of practical applications for sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. It is concluded that plant biotic interactions in soil are omnipresent and important constituents in different ecosystem services provided by coastal grasslands.

Pals and enemies: Streptomycetes as promoters of plant illness and symbiosis

The ecological functions of soil streptomycetes within the plant root surroundings are currently gaining multiplied interest. This assessment describes our recent advances in elucidating the complex interactions between streptomycetes, plant lifes, and pathogenic and symbiotic microorganisms. Streptomycetes play diverse roles in plant-related microbial groups. Some act as biocontrol tools, inhibiting plant interactions with pathogenic organisms. As a result of the adversarial properties of streptomycetes, they exert a selective strain on soil microbes, which won’t constantly be for plant benefit. Others modulate the formation of symbioses among plant roots and microbes, and that is made possible due to their direct superb influence at the symbiotic association, expressed as, for example, enabling of hyphal elongation of symbiotic fungi. At present, streptomycetes have been diagnosed as modulators of plant defense using repressing plant responses to pathogens that they facilitate root colonization with pathogenic fungi. In contrast, other strains induce local and systemic resistance against pathogens or promote plant growth. In conclusion, while streptomycetes have an obvious ability of appearing as biocontrol agents, care has to be taken to avoid strains that become virulent pathogens or promote disease development. We argue toward using an included screening approach in the look for efficient biocontrol agents, consisting of assays on in vitro antagonism, plant growth, and disorder suppression.

Asymmetry of carbon sequestrations by plant and soil after forestation regulated by soil nitrogen

Forestation is regarded as an effective strategy for increasing terrestrial carbon sequestration. However, its carbon sink potential remains uncertain due to the scarcity of large-scale sampling data and limited knowledge of the linkage between plant and soil C dynamics. Here, we conduct a large-scale survey of 163 control plots and 614 forested plots involving 25304 trees and 11700 soil samples in northern China to fill this knowledge gap. We find that forestation in northern China contributes a significant carbon sink (913.19 ± 47.58 Tg C), 74% of which is stored in biomass and 26% in soil organic carbon. Further analysis reveals that the biomass carbon sink increases initially but then decreases as soil nitrogen increases, while soil organic carbon significantly decreases in nitrogen-rich soils. These results highlight the importance of incorporating plant and soil interactions, modulated by nitrogen supply in the calculation and modelling of current and future carbon sink potential.

Effects of vegetation and soil changes on microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in the Napahai meadow under N deposition.

To explore the responses of soil microorganisms to short-term nitrogen deposition in alpine meadow, we set three treatments of low nitrogen (5 g N·m-2·a-1), medium nitrogen (10 g N·m-2·a-1), and high nitrogen (15 g N·m-2·a-1) addition to investigate the effects of nitrogen-deposition induced alterations in plant diversity and soil physicochemical properties on microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) in a typical alpine meadow community of Carex nubigena in Napahai. The results showed that nitrogen addition significantly increased soil MBC, MBN, and their quotients, with the increases of MBC being as high as 139.3% under medium nitrogen treatment. Both MBC and MBN showed significant decreases along the soil layer, with a reduction of 24.1% to 75.1%. Nitrogen addition significantly increased aboveground biomass and reduced Shannon and Simpson indices by 6.6%-65.4%. Nitrogen addition significantly decreased soil pH, increased the contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen, with the highest reduction (7.0%-511.1%) being observed in medium nitrogen treatment. Soil pH increased while other physical and chemical indicators significantly decreased with the increases of soil layer, with a variation range of 19.5%-91.2%. Results of structural equation model showed that microbial biomass was significantly positively correlated with ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and organic matter, but negatively correlated with pH and Shannon index. The interaction of plant and soil physicochemical properties explained 55%-77% of the variations in MBC, MBN and their quotient. Soil physicochemical properties had the highest effect value (0.56-0.95) on MBC, MBN and their quotients, followed by plant diversity and aboveground biomass. Therefore, nitrogen deposition increased soil MBC and MBN and their quotient, primarily through improving soil nutrient availability and plant aboveground biomass, whereas MBC and MBN and their quotient were suppressed by high-level nitrogen deposition due to soil acidification and plant diversity losses.

Non-prey biotic interactions in carnivorous plants

Carnivorous plants often spark broad interest due to their specialized adaptations for trapping and consuming animals. These notable organisms not only fix carbon through photosynthesis, but they also obtain essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate from their captured prey. In typical angiosperms, interactions with animals are usually confined to such processes as pollination and herbivory, but another layer of complexity in these interactions is added for carnivorous plants. Here, we introduce carnivorous plants and their associated organisms - ranging from their prey to their symbionts - and highlight biotic interactions beyond carnivory to discuss how the 'default' interactions typical for flowering plants have changed in the case of the carnivorous plants (Figure 1).

The relative importance of drought stress and neighbor richness on plant–plant interactions shifts over a short time

Exploring how plant–plant interactions between species and their neighbors vary with biotic and abiotic factors is vital to understanding community assembly mechanisms in the context of global changes. In this study, using a dominant species (Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel.) in the semiarid Inner Mongolia steppe as the target species and ten other species as neighbors, we carried out a microcosm experiment to evaluate how drought stress, neighbor richness and season affected the relative neighbor effect (Cint) (the ability to reduce growth of target species). The factor of season interactively affected the effect of drought stress or neighbor richness on Cint. In the summer, drought stress decreased Cint directly and indirectly by decreasing SLA hierarchical distance and neighbor biomass. In the subsequent spring, drought stress increased Cint, and neighbor richness increased Cint directly and indirectly by increasing neighbor community functional dispersion (FDis) and neighbor biomass. Specifically, SLA hierarchical distance was positively associated with neighbor biomass, while height hierarchical distance was negatively associated with neighbor biomass in both seasons, which increased Cint. These findings show that the relative importance of drought stress and neighbor richness on Cint shifted over seasons, which provides strong empirical evidence of how plant–plant interactions respond to changes in biotic and abiotic factors in the semiarid Inner Mongolia steppe over a short-term time. Furthermore, this study provides novel insight into community assembly mechanisms in the context of climatic aridity and biodiversity loss in semiarid regions.

Soil salinization disrupts plant-plant signaling effects on extra-floral nectar induction in wild cotton.

Plant-plant interactions via volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have received much attention, but how abiotic stresses affect these interactions is poorly understood. We tested the effect of VOCs exposure from damaged conspecifics on the production of extra-floral nectar (EFN) in wild cotton plants (Gossypium hirsutum), a coastal species in northern Yucatan (Mexico), and whether soil salinization affected these responses. We placed plants in mesh cages, and within each cage assigned plants as emitters or receivers. We exposed emitters to either ambient or augmented soil salinity to simulate a salinity shock, and within each group subjected half of the emitters to no damage or artificial leaf damage with caterpillar regurgitant. Damage increased the emission of sesquiterpenes and aromatic compounds under ambient but not under augmented salinity. Correspondingly, exposure to VOCs from damaged emitters had effect on receiver EFN induction, but this effect was contingent on salinization. Receivers produced more EFN in response to damage after being exposed to VOCs from damaged emitters when the latter were grown under ambient salinity, but not when they were subjected to salinization. These results suggest complex effects of abiotic factors on VOC-mediated plant interactions.

Plant facilitation improves carbon production efficiency while reducing nitrogen input in semiarid agroecosystem

It is critical to reduce carbon (C) emission and nitrogen (N) input in agroecosystems under a changing climate. If crop diversification is introduced, interspecific plant–plant interactions as an effective pathway may achieve this goal. However, the related process and its mechanism are poorly understood. A two-year field study was conducted to explore the effects of intercropping systems including soybean-maize, soybean- wheat and maize-wheat on the land equivalent ratio (LER), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), seasonal carbon emission, and soil properties in a typical semiarid environment. Three N rates (N1: 150 kg ha−1, N2: 225 kg ha−1, N3: 300 kg ha−1) were applied. The result indicated that the intercropping with soybean significantly increased system productivity with LER > 1, showing a typical plant–plant facilitation. However, the LER of maize–wheat intercropping was significantly lower than 1, representing interspecific competition. With the increasing N rate, the productivity of monoculture wheat or maize was evidently promoted. Particularly, the productivity under N2 and N3 remained at a similar level due to interspecific facilitation. This trend was mechanically driven by the improved N uptake (NLER > 1) and NUE under the presence of interspecific facilitation. Critically, interspecific facilitation was observed to promote carbon emissions (CE) by 4.0%-6.3%, since root input, microbial activities and the C&N decomposition enzyme activities were significantly enhanced. To say, interspecific facilitation evidently enhanced carbon emission efficiency (Yield/CE) whereas interspecific competition turned to lower it. To sum up, plant facilitation improved crop productivity and carbon emission efficiency by reducing N input. Our findings provided a new insight into the exploration of green solution in terms of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency, as well as lowering N fertilizer application in the natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Assembly and Function of Seed Endophytes in Response to Environmental Stress.

Seeds are colonized by diverse microorganisms that can improve the growth and stress resistance of host plants. Although understanding the mechanisms of plant endophyte-host plant interactions is increasing, much of this knowledge does not come from seed endophytes, particularly under environmental stress that the plant host grows to face, including biotic (e.g., pathogens, herbivores and insects) and abiotic factors (e.g., drought, heavy metals and salt). In this article, we first provided a framework for the assembly and function of seed endophytes and discussed the sources and assembly process of seed endophytes. Following that, we reviewed the impact of environmental factors on the assembly of seed endophytes. Lastly, we explored recent advances in the growth promotion and stress resistance enhancement of plants, functioning by seed endophytes under various biotic and abiotic stressors.

Endophytic bacteria with host-supportive genetic determinants in their genomes induce growth and antioxidant activity related gene functions in transcriptome of black rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Black rice is famed because of its high antioxidants content. The cooperation and contribution of endophytes towards growth and antioxidant properties of black rice has been experimented. The efficient endophytes were isolated from black rice, and Enterobacter sp., Kluyvera sp. and Bacillus subtilis were selected. The whole genome of these endophytes contained genes required for IAA production (trpAB.Z), phosphate solubilization (pqqAB), siderophore production (entABCD), colonization (fliAB.Z; cheAB.Z) and antioxidant activity (bglAB), which were further validated through biochemical and physiological analysis. The inoculation of these three effective endophytes resulted in enhancement of growth by 33.33%, 30.23% and 33.33% and antioxidant properties by 31.57%, 35.33% and 27.87% in Enterobacter, Kluyvera and B. subtilis treated plants respectively. The transcriptome of black rice plant, when colonized by these endophytes, resulted in 506 up-regulated and 332 down-regulated genes. Transcripts upregulated in response to endophytic colonization were mainly involved in plant growth, antioxidant properties, interactions, and synthesis of aroma compounds (terpenoid synthase). The overall patterns of functions encoded on the genome of endophytes and expressed in black rice plants were highly correlated. The strain specific augmentation through endophytism was used to achieve the desired properties in black rice.

Dynamic Analysis of Delayed Two-Species Interaction Model with Age Structure: An Application to Larch-Betula Platyphylla Forests in the Daxing’an Mountains, Northeast China

Since plant–plant interaction has been the fundamental issue of the ecology community and is essential for the multispecies forest community, it is necessary to analyze the interaction mechanisms and provide suggestions for collaborative management of multispecies forests with the background of double carbon goals in China. To explore the interaction mechanisms in different interaction modes and assist China’s green development, we choose the most promising area, the Daxing’an Mountains, and its dominant species, Larch and Betula platyphylla, as research objects and establish a delayed two-species interaction model with an age structure. First, we calculate the equilibria of our model and analyze the stability of equilibria. Then, we study the existence of the Hopf bifurcation near the equilibria. Furthermore, we determine reasonable parameter values based on official data through mathematical methods, such as cluster analysis and model fitting. Finally, we carry out numerical simulations from three aspects, the evolution of a stand structure without interactions, the population dynamics in different interaction modes, and the influences of the parameters on the equilibria. Combined with simulation results, we provide biological interpretations for simulations of the stand structure evolution process and the interactions between Larch and Betula platyphylla; we also give reasonable values of the growth rates and mortalities for developing forest strategies.

Determination of Heavy Metals Immobilization by Chemical Fractions in Contaminated Soil Amended with Biochar

Biochar is a promising tool to immobilize heavy metals (HMs) in the soil. Biochar’s effect on HMs immobilization into acidic soil (pH < 5) and the interaction of plants have been investigated. Three types of feedstocks were used for biochar development via pyrolysis at two temperatures and then applied as soil amendments. A vegetative experiment has been carried out with buckwheat and white mustard to determine the effect of biochar as an HMs immobilizing agent in the presence of sewage sludge. The results show promising biochar properties to immobilize heavy metals and reduce their availability for plants. Biochar incorporation increased soil pH and reduced heavy metal forms available to plants. A sequential extraction procedure was applied to investigate five different forms of six heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) and evaluate their distribution after plants’ cultivation. The proportion of the residual fraction (RES) of HMs varied widely and differed from metal to metal and from plant species. RES in the soil after treatment with biochar and buckwheat harvest varied between 68.14 and 96.40% for Zn, 42.39 and 59.48% (Cu), 75.89 and 93.11% (Cr), 81.85 and 92.83% (Ni), and 98.94 and 99.20% (Pb). In comparison, a slightly opposite trend was found in the soil after white mustard cultivation. The proportion of RES was: 0.82–53.44% for Zn, 0.99–52.93% (Cu), 48.87–76.41% (Cr), 10.22–72.63% (Ni), and 98.31–99.32% (Pb). HMs immobilization efficiency in the soil after biochar treatment followed the order Ni > Cr > Pb > Cu > Zn and Ni > Pb > Zn > Cr > Cu after buckwheat and white mustard cultivation, respectively.

Fate and Transport of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Discharge Sites: A Review

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are an environmentally persistent group of chemicals that can pose an imminent threat to human health through groundwater and surface water contamination. In this review, we evaluate the subsurface behavior of a variety of PFAS chemicals with a focus on aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) discharge sites. AFFF is the primary PFAS contamination risk at sites such as airports and military bases due to use as a fire extinguisher. Understanding the fate and transport of PFAS in the subsurface environment is a multifaceted issue. This review focuses on the role of adsorbent, adsorbate, and aqueous solution in the fate and transport of PFAS chemicals. Additionally, other hydrogeological, geochemical, ecological factors such as accumulation at air–water interfaces, subsurface heterogeneity, polyfluorinated PFAS degradation pathways, and plant interactions are discussed. This review also examines several case studies at AFFF discharge sites in order to examine if the findings are consistent with the broader PFAS literature. We present the most crucial future research directions and trends regarding PFAS and provide valuable insights into understanding PFAS fate and transport at AFFF discharge sites. We suggest a more comprehensive approach to PFAS research endeavors that accounts for the wide variety of environmental variables that have been shown to impact PFAS fate and transport.

The Relationship Between the Composition of Root Exudates and the Efficiency of Interaction of Wheat Plants with Microorganisms

The Relationship Between the Composition of Root Exudates and the Efficiency of Interaction of Wheat Plants with Microorganisms

Plant disease management with amelioration of systemic resistance in soybean by endophytic fungi associated with GC-MS metabolic profiling of Chaetomium sp.,

Plants exhibit beneficial associations between fungal endophytes and roots for better growth, disease suppression, and stress tolerance. Considerable information is now available about the beneficial role of fungal endophytes. In this study, endophytic fungi Chaetomium sp., Curvularia chonburiensis, C. specifera, C. hawaiiensis, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, Talaromyces assiutensis and T. trachyspermus isolated and evaluated for nematocidal activity against a root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. The culture filtrates of endophytic fungi were prepared and used to check their efficacy against root knot nematodes. The culture filtrates of endophytic fungi were applied to pot and field experiments using soybean as host plants. In vitro study of these endophytic fungal culture filtrates showed strong nematocidal activity by killing juveniles of M. javanica to a certain degree, while Chaetomium sp., and Talaromyces assiutensis showed 100% mortality rate after 48 h. The application of Cephalosporium sp., Chaetomium sp., Talaromyces trachyspermus and T. assiutensis suppressed root rotting fungi of soybean in both screen house and field plots experiments. Significance of fungal isolates was further confirmed by repeated experiments. Endophytic fungi also showed positive impacts on the host plants by increasing the rate of their growth and improving their tolerance level to biotic stress which was evident by the production of increased amounts of resistance markers like salicylic acid and polyphenol contents with subsequent improvement of the antioxidant status. The n-hexane fraction of the culture filtrate of Chaetomium sp., were subjected to GC-MS analysis for the identification of compounds and some new compounds have been reported for the first time from this fungus. The results will facilitate a better understanding of host plant and fungal interaction and are likely to assist in the screening and utilization of beneficial microbes.

Land abandonment as driver of woody vegetation dynamics in Tamaulipan thornscrub at Northeastern Mexico.

Vegetation structure is defined as the temporal and spatial distribution of plant species in a particular site. Vegetation structure includes vertical and horizontal distribution and has been widely used as an indicator of successional changes. Ecological succession plays an essential role in the determination of the mechanisms that structure plant communities under anthropogenic disturbances. After an anthropogenic disturbance, such as grazing, forests follow changes in the original composition and vegetation structure, which eventually could restore some of their attributes to become mature forests again. To know how the time of abandonment affects woody plant communities, we ask the following questions: (1) How does the species richness, diversity, and vertical structure (A index) change concerning the time of abandonment? (2) Are species similarities among woody vegetation communities determined by land abandonment? (3) Which woody species have the highest ecological importance in each successional stage? We explored how successional stages after land abandonment mediated the species richness, species diversity (alpha and beta), and ecological importance value index on four areas of Tamaulipan thornscrub. We selected four areas that differed in time of abandonment: 10, 20, 30, and >30 years. The first three areas were used for cattle grazing, whereas the >30-year area was selected as a control since it does not have a record of disturbance by cattle grazing or agriculture. During the summer of 2012, we randomly established four square plots (40 m × 40 m) in each area, separated at least 200 m from each other. In each plot, we recorded all woody individuals per species with a basal diameter ≥1 cm at 10 cm above ground level. We estimated species richness indices, species diversity (alpha and beta), and ecological importance value index. We recorded 27 woody species belonging to 23 genera and 15 families. Fabaceae accounted for 40% of the species. Acacia farnesiana was the most important and abundant species in the first three successional stages. We suggested that older successional stages of Tamaulipan thornscrub promote woody plant communities, characterized by a higher complex structure than younger communities. We observed the highest species similarity between the sites with a closer time of abandonment, while the lowest similarity was shown between the sites with extreme time of abandonment. We conclude that Tamaulipan thornscrub shows a similar trend of ecological succession to other dry forests and the time of abandonment has a high mediation on plant dynamics in the Tamaulipan thornscrub. Also, we stand out the importance of secondary forests for Tamaulipan thornscrub woody plant communities. Finally, we recommended future studies include aspects of regeneration speed, the proximity of mature vegetation, and the interactions of plants with their seed dispersers.

A novel BLUF photoreceptor modulates the Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri-host plant interaction.

Plant-pathogen interaction is influenced by multiple environmental factors, including temperature and light. Recent works have shown that light modulates not only the defense response of plants but also the pathogens virulence. Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) is the bacterium responsible for citrus canker, an important plant disease worldwide. The Xcc genome presents four genes encoding putative photoreceptors: one bacteriophytochrome and three blue light photoreceptors, one LOV and two BLUFs (bluf1: XAC2120 and bluf2: XAC3278). The presence of two BLUFs proteins is an outstanding feature of Xcc. In this work we show that the bluf2 gene is functional. The mutant strain, XccΔbluf2, was constructed demonstrating that BLUF2 regulates swimming-type motility, adhesion to leaves, exopolysaccharide production and biofilm formation, features involved in the Xcc virulence processes. An important aspect during the plant-pathogen interaction is the oxidative response of the host and the consequent reaction of the pathogen. We observed that ROS detoxification is regulated by Xcc bluf2 gene. The phenotypes of disease in orange plants produced by WT and XccΔbluf2 strains were evaluated, observing different phenotypes. Altogether, these results show that BLUF2 negatively regulates virulence during citrus canker. This work constitutes the first report on BLUF-like receptors in plant pathogenic bacteria.

Bibliometric analysis of global research on bioretention from 2007 to 2021.

Bioretention is a typical low impact development (LID) practice that helps reduce peak urban stormwater runoff and runoff pollutant concentrations (e.g., heavy metals, suspended solids, organic pollutants), which has become an important part of urban stormwater management over the past 15years. To understand the research hotspots and frontiers in the field of bioretention facility research and provide a reference for research into bioretention facilities, we conduct a statistical analysis of global bioretention literature published during 2007-2021 using the Web of Science core database and the data visualization and analysis software VOSviewer and HistCite. The number of published articles related to bioretention facilities shows a rising trend over the study period, with research from China contributing greatly to global research on bioretention facilities. However, the influence of articles needs to be increased. Recent studies mainly focus on the hydrologic effect and water purification effect of bioretention facilities and on the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients from runoff rainwater. Further studies should focus on the interaction of fillers, microorganisms, and plants in bioretention facilities and its impact on the migration, transformation, and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus; the purification effect and mechanism of specific emerging contaminants in runoff; the selection and configuration optimization of filler materials and plant species; and the optimization of the design parameters of the model for bioretention systems.

Interspecific interactions between crops influence soil functional groups and networks in a maize/soybean intercropping system

Despite increasing evidence that intercropping systems may increase crop productivity, little is known about whether and how soil biota change under interspecific competition among plants. A field experiment with maize/soybean intercropping and the corresponding monoculture systems was conducted under four nitrogen fertilization regimes to investigate the effects of interspecific plant interactions on grain yield, soil properties (β-glucosidase and water-soluble carbohydrates), and biotic communities (bacteria, fungi, and nematodes). The soils under maize and soybean in the intercropping system were sampled separately to represent intercropped maize and intercropped soybean, respectively. Compared to monocultures, the complexity and robustness of soil networks comprising bacterial, fungal, and nematode communities increased in intercropped maize soils, but densities of plant parasitic nematodes and β-glucosidase activity were reduced. Intercropped soybean soils had lower C availability due to chronic shading by maize, but a significant increase was found in saprophytic fungi, and plant parasitic nematodes compared to soybean monoculture soils. Although intercropped soybean suffered from interspecific competition with maize, the interactions within the fungal community increased for both crop species in the intercropping system. Our study demonstrates that increased carbon uptake in maize due to increased light capture in the intercropping system can facilitate nutrient cycling by altering the abundance of functional groups of soil organisms, such as saprophytic fungi, and enhancing network complexity and stability. We detected a trade-off between productivity and soil nematode diversity in the intercropping system under nitrogen fertilization, the yield of maize increased but soil nematode richness decreased at low nitrogen level, while the yield of soybean decreased but the nematode richness increased at high nitrogen level. These findings show that both trade-offs and benefits occur in intercropping systems and highlight the role of plant-soil biota interactions in such systems.

Spatiotemporal patterns of wheat response to Pyrenophora tritici-repentis in asymptomatic regions revealed by transcriptomic and X-ray fluorescence microscopy analyses.

Pathogen attacks elicit dynamic and widespread molecular responses in plants. While our understanding of plant responses has advanced considerably, little is known of the molecular responses in the asymptomatic "green" regions (AGR) adjoining lesions. Here, we explore gene expression data and high-resolution elemental imaging to report the spatiotemporal changes in the AGR of susceptible and moderately resistant wheat cultivars infected with a necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Ptr). We show, with improved spatiotemporal resolution, that calcium oscillations are modified in the susceptible cultivar, resulting in "frozen" host defence signals at the mature disease stage, and silencing of the host's recognition and defence mechanisms which would otherwise protect it from further attacks. In contrast, Ca accumulation and heightened defence response was observed in the moderately resistant cultivar in the later stage of disease development. Furthermore, in the susceptible interaction, the AGR was unable to recover post disease disruption. Our targeted sampling technique also enabled detection of eight previously predicted proteinaceous effectors in addition to the known ToxA effector. Collectively, our results highlight the benefits of spatially resolved molecular analysis and nutrient mapping to provide high-resolution spatiotemporal snapshots of host-pathogen interactions, paving the way for detangling complex disease interactions in plants.