Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights
Abstract Background Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) exhibits a diverse and complex response to various organisms and environmental factors. The Spodoptera exigua elicits varying levels of damage in different crops. Secondary metabolites in quinoa induce defense mechanisms against S. exigua and pl...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06825-y |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849402654820663296 |
|---|---|
| author | Junna Liu Hanxue Li Hongxin Wang Ping Zhang Qianchao Wang Li Li Heng Xie Shunhe Cheng Peng Qin |
| author_facet | Junna Liu Hanxue Li Hongxin Wang Ping Zhang Qianchao Wang Li Li Heng Xie Shunhe Cheng Peng Qin |
| author_sort | Junna Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) exhibits a diverse and complex response to various organisms and environmental factors. The Spodoptera exigua elicits varying levels of damage in different crops. Secondary metabolites in quinoa induce defense mechanisms against S. exigua and play a key role in influencing its feeding preferences. Although the co-evolution of quinoa and S. exigua has been explored, the understanding of the interaction between these species remains limited. We aimed to evaluate the defense mechanisms of differently colored quinoa (red, white, yellow, and black) against S. exigua using metabolomics and transcriptome analyses. Metabolomic analysis was used to identify insect-resistant metabolites in four differently colored quinoa cultivars, whereas transcriptome analysis was used to explore related pathways and gene associations. Results Quinoa resistant cultivars has higher levels of protective metabolites and mechanisms. Quinoa constitutive defense refers to the significant metabolism of ferulic compounds and lignin in plants to enhance their own resistance. Meanwhile, a significant expression of anthelmintic differential metabolites, including indole 3-acetic acid, choline, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and anthranilic acid, was observed. The structural genes regulated by kaempferol (3,5,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavone) and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, along with genes downstream of quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside and MYB/MYB-related transcription factor, exhibited high expression levels in all four colors of insect-resistant quinoa. Among all quinoa cultivars, the red quinoa cultivar showed the most distinct variation in metabolite species and contents, insect-resistance was also relatively high. Conclusions These findings reveal that the types of different metabolites and MYB/MYB related transcription factors play a crucial role in influencing the expression of genes related to quinoa color and regulation, as well as in distinguishing the insect resistance of quinoa with different colors. These findings provide a basis for selecting and identifying new insect-resistant differently colored quinoa cultivars. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9acf7f97c5e0465bb210ece3bbff19f8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9acf7f97c5e0465bb210ece3bbff19f82025-08-20T03:37:29ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-07-0125112510.1186/s12870-025-06825-yColor-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insightsJunna Liu0Hanxue Li1Hongxin Wang2Ping Zhang3Qianchao Wang4Li Li5Heng Xie6Shunhe Cheng7Peng Qin8College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) exhibits a diverse and complex response to various organisms and environmental factors. The Spodoptera exigua elicits varying levels of damage in different crops. Secondary metabolites in quinoa induce defense mechanisms against S. exigua and play a key role in influencing its feeding preferences. Although the co-evolution of quinoa and S. exigua has been explored, the understanding of the interaction between these species remains limited. We aimed to evaluate the defense mechanisms of differently colored quinoa (red, white, yellow, and black) against S. exigua using metabolomics and transcriptome analyses. Metabolomic analysis was used to identify insect-resistant metabolites in four differently colored quinoa cultivars, whereas transcriptome analysis was used to explore related pathways and gene associations. Results Quinoa resistant cultivars has higher levels of protective metabolites and mechanisms. Quinoa constitutive defense refers to the significant metabolism of ferulic compounds and lignin in plants to enhance their own resistance. Meanwhile, a significant expression of anthelmintic differential metabolites, including indole 3-acetic acid, choline, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and anthranilic acid, was observed. The structural genes regulated by kaempferol (3,5,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavone) and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, along with genes downstream of quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside and MYB/MYB-related transcription factor, exhibited high expression levels in all four colors of insect-resistant quinoa. Among all quinoa cultivars, the red quinoa cultivar showed the most distinct variation in metabolite species and contents, insect-resistance was also relatively high. Conclusions These findings reveal that the types of different metabolites and MYB/MYB related transcription factors play a crucial role in influencing the expression of genes related to quinoa color and regulation, as well as in distinguishing the insect resistance of quinoa with different colors. These findings provide a basis for selecting and identifying new insect-resistant differently colored quinoa cultivars.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06825-yQuinoaMetabolomePlant defense responseSecondary metabolitesSpodoptera exiguaTranscriptome |
| spellingShingle | Junna Liu Hanxue Li Hongxin Wang Ping Zhang Qianchao Wang Li Li Heng Xie Shunhe Cheng Peng Qin Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights BMC Plant Biology Quinoa Metabolome Plant defense response Secondary metabolites Spodoptera exigua Transcriptome |
| title | Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| title_full | Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| title_fullStr | Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| title_full_unstemmed | Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| title_short | Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| title_sort | color dependent defense mechanisms of quinoa chenopodium quinoa willd against spodoptera exigua metabolomic and transcriptomic insights |
| topic | Quinoa Metabolome Plant defense response Secondary metabolites Spodoptera exigua Transcriptome |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06825-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT junnaliu colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT hanxueli colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT hongxinwang colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT pingzhang colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT qianchaowang colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT lili colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT hengxie colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT shunhecheng colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights AT pengqin colordependentdefensemechanismsofquinoachenopodiumquinoawilldagainstspodopteraexiguametabolomicandtranscriptomicinsights |