Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer

Advances in combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput screening methods have led to renewed interest in synthetic plant immunity activators as well as priming agents. 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic acid (3,5-DCAA) is a derivative of anthranilic acid that has shown potency in activating defence mechanisms...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Claude Y. Hamany Djande, Paul A. Steenkamp, Ian A. Dubery
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/3/545
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850200083718471680
author Claude Y. Hamany Djande
Paul A. Steenkamp
Ian A. Dubery
author_facet Claude Y. Hamany Djande
Paul A. Steenkamp
Ian A. Dubery
author_sort Claude Y. Hamany Djande
collection DOAJ
description Advances in combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput screening methods have led to renewed interest in synthetic plant immunity activators as well as priming agents. 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic acid (3,5-DCAA) is a derivative of anthranilic acid that has shown potency in activating defence mechanisms in Arabidopsis and barley. Chemical biology, which is the interface of chemistry and biology, can make use of metabolomic approaches and tools to better understand molecular mechanisms operating in complex biological systems. Here we report on the untargeted metabolomic profiling of barley seedlings treated with 3,5-DCAA to gain deeper insights into the mechanism of action of this resistance inducer. Histochemical analysis revealed the production of reactive oxygen species in the leaves upon 3,5-DCAA infiltration. Subsequently, methanolic extracts from different time periods (12, 24, and 36 h post-treatment) were analysed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to a high-resolution mass spectrometer. Both unsupervised and supervised chemometric methods were used to reveal hidden patterns and highlight metabolite variables associated with the treatment. Based on the metabolites identified, both the phenylpropanoid and octadecanoid pathways appear to be main routes activated by 3,5-DCAA. Different classes of responsive metabolites were annotated with flavonoids, more specifically flavones, which were the most dominant. Given the limited understanding of this inducer, this study offers a metabolomic analysis of the response triggered by its foliar application in barley. This additional insight could help make informed decisions for the development of more effective strategies for crop protection and improvement, ultimately contributing to crop resilience and agricultural sustainability.
format Article
id doaj-art-ff00a113905e485f9cb52f10a9d4413a
institution OA Journals
issn 1420-3049
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Molecules
spelling doaj-art-ff00a113905e485f9cb52f10a9d4413a2025-08-20T02:12:28ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-01-0130354510.3390/molecules30030545Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance InducerClaude Y. Hamany Djande0Paul A. Steenkamp1Ian A. Dubery2Research Centre for Plant Metabolomics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaResearch Centre for Plant Metabolomics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaResearch Centre for Plant Metabolomics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaAdvances in combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput screening methods have led to renewed interest in synthetic plant immunity activators as well as priming agents. 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic acid (3,5-DCAA) is a derivative of anthranilic acid that has shown potency in activating defence mechanisms in Arabidopsis and barley. Chemical biology, which is the interface of chemistry and biology, can make use of metabolomic approaches and tools to better understand molecular mechanisms operating in complex biological systems. Here we report on the untargeted metabolomic profiling of barley seedlings treated with 3,5-DCAA to gain deeper insights into the mechanism of action of this resistance inducer. Histochemical analysis revealed the production of reactive oxygen species in the leaves upon 3,5-DCAA infiltration. Subsequently, methanolic extracts from different time periods (12, 24, and 36 h post-treatment) were analysed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to a high-resolution mass spectrometer. Both unsupervised and supervised chemometric methods were used to reveal hidden patterns and highlight metabolite variables associated with the treatment. Based on the metabolites identified, both the phenylpropanoid and octadecanoid pathways appear to be main routes activated by 3,5-DCAA. Different classes of responsive metabolites were annotated with flavonoids, more specifically flavones, which were the most dominant. Given the limited understanding of this inducer, this study offers a metabolomic analysis of the response triggered by its foliar application in barley. This additional insight could help make informed decisions for the development of more effective strategies for crop protection and improvement, ultimately contributing to crop resilience and agricultural sustainability.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/3/545barleychemical biologyinduced disease resistancemetabolomicsprimingstress response
spellingShingle Claude Y. Hamany Djande
Paul A. Steenkamp
Ian A. Dubery
Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
Molecules
barley
chemical biology
induced disease resistance
metabolomics
priming
stress response
title Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
title_full Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
title_fullStr Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
title_full_unstemmed Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
title_short Chemical Biology Meets Metabolomics: The Response of Barley Seedlings to 3,5-Dichloroanthranilic Acid, a Resistance Inducer
title_sort chemical biology meets metabolomics the response of barley seedlings to 3 5 dichloroanthranilic acid a resistance inducer
topic barley
chemical biology
induced disease resistance
metabolomics
priming
stress response
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/3/545
work_keys_str_mv AT claudeyhamanydjande chemicalbiologymeetsmetabolomicstheresponseofbarleyseedlingsto35dichloroanthranilicacidaresistanceinducer
AT paulasteenkamp chemicalbiologymeetsmetabolomicstheresponseofbarleyseedlingsto35dichloroanthranilicacidaresistanceinducer
AT ianadubery chemicalbiologymeetsmetabolomicstheresponseofbarleyseedlingsto35dichloroanthranilicacidaresistanceinducer