Plant metabolite reponses to fungal infection

Foliar endophyte infection elicits plant defence reactions in Cirsium arvense.

Endophytic fungi can affect interactions of plants with herbivores through the production of toxins or eliciting plant defence reactions. In collaboration with researchers at the University of York and Royal Holloway, we investigated the effects of the endophytic fungus Chaetomium cochlioides on leaf chemical composition in controlled experiments with the thistle Cirsium arvense.

Infection with the endophyte was successful in the majority of the plants and analysis of plant chemistry using metabolomics revealed that Chaetomium infection resulted in a significant change in metabolite profiles of leaves from infected plants compared with those from uninfected plants. Changes in the concentrations of >30 secondary compounds, including oxidised fatty acids, and jasmonates were detected in response to Chaetomium infection. We report, for the first time, the detection of Arabidopsides in a plant species other than Arabidopisis, and reveal that this class of galactolipids may also play a role in plant responses to endophyte infection.

 Figure shows PLS-DA scores plot of the plant leaf metabolome after endophyte infection.

 Figures show effect of endophyte infection on the concentrations of plant defence metabolites.

Identification of trail laying pheromones in ants.

In other work with Sussex scientists, we are studying the chemical ecology and organization of ant colonies, primarily their use of pheromones for intra and inter colony communication. We are currently studying foraging pheromones of the yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus. We are identifying the constituent compounds in their trail pheromones via GC/MS and subsequently deducing whether these compounds are modified in response to changes in the foraging environment.

Workers from a colony of Lasius flavus establishing a foraging trail to a syrup feeder.