Plants interact with organisms in their environment via metabolites. Primary compounds such as sugars and amino acids serve as nutrients for heterotrophic organisms, and secondary compounds often act as signals, attracting or deterring specific organisms [1]. Our team found that root exudates, compounds released by roots into the rhizosphere, are dynamic, responding to various environmental and experimental stimuli [2]. However, how plants respond on a general metabolic level to presence of microbes remained unclear. Here, we investigated changes in plant metabolic profiles to pathogenic or beneficial bacteria with an untargeted, direct injection mass spectrometry method. With this, we identify multiple chemical classes changing with different temporal dynamics in response to pathogens. Coupled with an RNAseq experiment and integrated analysis of the multi-omic dataset, we reveal the central importance of amino acid metabolism in pathogen responses.

[1] Sasse J., Martinoia E., Northen T., Trends in Plant Science, 2018, 23, 25-41.

[2] McLaughlin S., Zhalnina K., Kosina S., Northen T., Sasse J., Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 1-13.