Some of the plants have their immunological mechanism to defend against diseases. The understanding of such mechanism is important to produce the agricultural cops with less agricultural chemicals.
This time, Assistant Professor Yasuhiro Ishig, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tsukuba by the collaboration with the research group in the U.S. has found the molecular mechanism of the resistance. That is a quite solid resistant ability to disease-causing germs in a case that the plants themselves are not host of the germs. During the investigation of the molecular mechanism, the research team analized with transcriptome and metabolome so that they can monitor comprehensive genome expressions and metabolic changes.
Specifically, the research team analyzed the gene expressions and metabolic changes in model plants in legume species, infected by soybean's germs. As a result, when they looked at chlorophyll catabolic substances and isoflavonoid as secondary metabolic substances, related genome expressions and metabolic details showed notable changes due to the germ infection. Moreover, they found that phytoalexin medicarpin, one of the isoflavonoids, works as a strong inhibitor of infectious activities by soil germ.
Yet, we have only limited knowledge of molecular mechanism in terms of plants' such resistance. The accomplishment of the research is expected to develop the fundamental technology of low-cost food production with less agricultural chemicals and to contribute to realizing sustainable agricultural activities in harmony with natural environment.

Disease and resistance phenotypes of soybean (Glycine max) and Medicago truncatula leaves inoculated with Phakopsora pachyrhizi.

Original Paper

Yasuhiro Ishiga, Srinivasa Rao Uppalapati1, Upinder S. Gill, David Huhman, Yuhong Tang and Kirankumar S. Mysore, Scientific Reports, Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses identify a role for chlorophyll catabolism and phytoalexin during Medicago nonhost resistance against Asian soybean rust. DOI:10.1038/srep13061