Root Exudates Metabolic Profiling Suggests Distinct Defense Mechanisms Between Resistant and Susceptible Konjac Species against Soft Rot Disease

Abstract

In order to understand the relationship between the changes of konjac root exudates induced by soft rot disease, the differences of root exudates between resistant cultivars (Amorphophallus bulbifer, HB) and susceptible cultivars (Amorphophallus konjac K.Koch, HK) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass Fourier transform (UHPLC-q Exactive HF-X). The results showed that the 364 potential metabolites with significant differential amounts. Further analysis of the differential metabolites showed that there were 7 unique metabolites in HB, and 4 unique metabolites in HK. The fold change is 0.6143 and 0.5606 in HK/HB for 3-Fucosyllactose and buddleoflavonoloside, respectively. This showed that some sugars and flavonoids help improve the resistance of konjac soft rot. The analysis of metabolic pathways using the KEGG database revealed that the concentration of jasmonic acid (JA) in HB was significantly higher than in HK. JA metabolism was involved in regulating konjac soft rot disease resistance.