NMR Metabolomics and Chemometrics of Lettuce, Lactuca sativa L., under Different Foliar Organic Fertilization Treatments

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 16; p. 2164
• Main Authors: Lanzotti, Virginia, Anzano, Attilio, Grauso, Laura, Zotti, Maurizio, Sacco, Adriana, Senatore, Mauro, Moreno, Mauro, Diano, Marcello, Parente, Maddalena, Esposito, Serena, Termolino, Pasquale, Palomba, Emanuela, Zoina, Astolfo, Mazzoleni, Stefano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Amino acids; Aquatic microorganisms; Artrospira platensis; Biological control; Chemometrics; Citric acid; Comparative analysis; Compost; Composts; Control; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Disease control; DNA; Environmental aspects; Ethanolamine; Fermented food; Fertilization; Foliar applications; food plant; Fungi; Fusarium; Fusarium oxysporum; Genetic aspects; Glutamine; Lettuce; Manures; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Microorganisms; Municipal solid waste; natural product chemistry; Nitrogen; NMR; NMR spectroscopy; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Organic fertilizers; Organic matter; Pathogens; Pests; Phenolic acids; Phenols; Physiological aspects; plant spectral information; Spirulina; Tea; Italy
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants11162164

Lettuce plants were grown in a greenhouse affected by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum to test the effects on plant metabolomics by different organic treatments. Three foliar application treatments were applied: a commercial compost tea made of aerobically fermented plant organic matter, a pure lyophilized microalga Artrospira platensis, commonly named spirulina, and the same microalga previously exposed during its culture to a natural uptake from medium enriched with F. oxysporum fragmented DNA (NAT). The experiment is the first attempt to observe in field conditions, the use and effects of a natural microbial library as a carrier of pathogenic fungal DNA for disease control. Untargeted NMR metabolomics and chemometrics showed that foliar organic application significantly reduced fumaric and formic acids, aromatic amino acids, and nucleosides, while increasing ethanolamine. A strong decrease in phenolic acids and an increase in citric acid and glutamine were specifically observed in the NAT treatment. It is noteworthy that the exposure of a known biostimulant microalga to fungal DNA in its culture medium was sufficient to induce detectable changes in the metabolomic profiles of the fertilized plants. These findings deserve further investigation to assess the potential relevance of the presented approach in the field of crop biostimulation and biocontrol of plant pathogens.