Structural Complexity, Differential Response to Infection, and Tissue Specificity of Indolic and Phenylpropanoid Secondary Metabolism in Arabidopsis Roots

Levels of indolic and phenylpropanoid secondary metabolites in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves undergo rapid and drastic changes during pathogen defense, yet little is known about this process in roots. Using Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant root cultures as an experimental system, and the root-pathogenic oomycete, Pythium sylvaticum, for infections, we analyzed the aromatic metabolite profiles in soluble extracts from uninfected and infected roots, as well as from the surrounding medium. A total of 16 indolic, one heterocyclic, and three phenylpropanoid compounds were structurally identified by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. Most of the indolics increased strongly upon infection, whereas the three phenylpropanoids decreased. Concomitant increases in both indolic and phenylpropanoid biosynthetic mRNAs suggested that phenylpropanoids other than those examined here in "soluble extracts" were coinduced with the indolics. These and previous results indicate that roots differ greatly from leaves with regard to the nature and relative abundance of all major soluble phenylpropanoid constituents. For indolics, by contrast, our data reveal far-reaching similarities between roots and leaves and, beyond this comparative aspect, provide an insight into this highly diversified yet under-explored metabolic realm. The data point to metabolic interconnections among the compounds identified and suggest a partial revision of the previously proposed camalexin pathway.