Metabolomic interaction of Phakopsora pachyrhizi-soybean

• Grant number: 22/00425-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Marcel Bellato Spósito
• Grantee: Fernanda Raquel Rezende de Castro Moretti
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/13191-5 - Epidemiological components, damage characterization and control of tropical and temperate rusts at a global climate change scenario, AP.TEM

Abstract

The use of metabolomics as a technique in plant studies has been increasing over the years, as it can detect even small perturbations in plant tissue due to changes in metabolism caused by abiotic and biotic agents. This study aims to elucidate how abiotic stress influences the plant metabolism when coping with disease. Soybean and vine rust will be the biotic agents, while heat and water stress will play the role of abiotic factors. The metabolomics data will presented as heatmaps that will be comparing the metabolic profiles of infected and uninfected plants, which were grown under or without abiotic stress. The postdoctoral research assistant will have the task to interpret that data, using the available literature published on metabolic pathways and plant physiology. Additionally, metabolomic data will be correlated with transcriptomics results (RNASeq) which will be performed by collaborators. Finally, integrated data will be analyzed and candidate biomarkers of the disease/abiotic stress interaction will be selected and applied in plants to validate resistance, if the preparations are commercially available to do so. If feasible, the biomarkers will be applied in soybean and vines under greenhouse conditions grown without and under heat stress and drought. Leaf collection will be performed 24 and 60 hours after inoculation with five replicates and resistance will be evaluated. (AU)