Widely Targeted Metabolomics Profiling Reveals the Effect of Powdery Mildew on Wine Grape Varieties with Different Levels of Tolerance to the Disease

Abstract

Powdery mildew is an economic threat for viticulture because it not only affects grape yield, but also causes a series of impacts on the qualities of fruit and wine, especially the flavors and various metabolites. Different grape varieties may have different levels of powdery mildew resistance/tolerance and their components of their metabolome are also various. In this study, two wine grape varieties, Guipu No.6 (GP6) and Marselan (Mar) with different levels of powdery mildew tolerance, were used to compare the quality differences in metabolism level by using the widely targeted metabolomics method. The results show that GP6 has a better powdery mildew leaf tolerance than Mar. A total of 774 metabolites were detected by using a UPLC-QQQ-MS-based metabolomics approach, and 57 differential metabolites were identified as key metabolites that were accumulated after infection with powdery mildew in GP6 and Mar, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, stilbenes, lipids, nucleotides and derivatives, lignans and coumarins, and quinones. This finding indicates that the defense mechanisms of grape fruit are mainly associated with phenylpropane-flavonoid metabolism. Specifically, stilbenes had greater variations after powdery mildew infection in GP6; while in Mar, the variations of flavonoids, especially kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide and luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, were more remarkable. The above results demonstrate that stilbenes may play a more important role than flavonoids in resisting powdery mildew infection in GP6’s fruits, and the drastic variations of these phenolic compounds in different wine grapes after powdery mildew infection might also lead to quality difference in the flavors. This study can provide new insights into the understanding of the cause of powdery mildew tolerance in different grape varieties and the effects on the quality of wine grapes infected with the disease exerted by metabolism level.

Widely Targeted Metabolomics Provides New Insights into the Flavonoid Metabolism in ‘Kyoho’ Grapes under a Two-Crop-a-Year Cultivation System

“…The number of metabolites obtained using the widely targeted metabolomics approach is generally between 200 and 1000, which is very important for studying the characteristics of the metabolite components of different varieties. In 2022, a total of 774 metabolites were detected using the widely targeted metabolomics approach in two wine grape varieties, and there were 157 types of flavonoids in 400 secondary metabolites [22]. In the present study, 1062 metabolites were detected in summer and winter 'Kyoho' grapes, including 285 flavonoids, 129 phenolic acids, 122 lipids, 108 amino acids and derivatives, 66 organic acids, 58 alkaloids, 54 nucleotides and derivatives, 52 terpenes, 28 tannins, and 26 lignans and coumarins.…”

“…The sample extracts were analyzed using an LC-ESI-MS/MS system (HPLC: Shimpack UFLC Shimadzu CBM30A system, www.shimadzu.com.cn/, accessed on 2 September 2021; MS: Applied Biosystems 6500 Q TRAP, www.appliedbiosystems.com.cn/, accessed on 2 September 2021). The 24 grape samples were analyzed under the following UPLC conditions based on a previous report [22]: column, Agilent SB-C18 (1.8 µm, 2.1 mm × 100 mm). The components of mobile phase A were 0.1% formic acid and pure water.…”

Cytogenetic Characterization and Metabolomic Differences of Full-Sib Progenies of Saccharum spp.

“…These findings indicate that the defense mechanisms of Zhongzhe 1 sugarcane may not be associated with phenylpropanoid metabolism. Unlike studies on the defense mechanism of grape plants against powdery mildew, Yu’s study [ 49 ] found that the defense mechanism of grape varieties after powdery mildew infection may be related to phenylalanine metabolism. These findings suggested that different-resistant plants may have different defense mechanisms against microorganisms.…”

Reduction of flavonoid content in honeysuckle via Erysiphe lonicerae-mediated inhibition of three essential genes in flavonoid biosynthesis pathways

“…Recent research has increasingly shown in various economically significant plants that flavonoids play an integral role in plant resistance to powdery mildew, positioning them as key substances in combating this disease ( Yu et al., 2022 ; Xu et al., 2023 ). When E. lonicerae invades honeysuckle, it initially confronts the direct or indirect defense mechanisms presented by these abundant flavonoids.…”