Pathogenicity of monokaryotic and dikaryotic mycelia of Ganoderma boninense revealed via LC-MS-based metabolomics

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 5330
• Main Authors: Santiago, Krystle Angelique A, Wong, Wei Chee, Goh, You Keng, Tey, Seng Heng, Ting, Adeline Su Yien
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 04.03.2024; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Amino acid metabolism; Chromatography, Liquid; Dikaryon; Ethyl acetate; Functional activities; Ganoderma; Ganoderma boninense; Liquid chromatography; Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Methionine; Monokaryon; Monokaryons; Oil palm; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Phenylalanine; Secondary metabolites; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Toxins; Tryptophan; Virulence; Dikaryon; Monokaryon; Functional activities; Amino acid metabolism; Oil palm
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56129-8
• ISSN: 2045-2322

This study compared the pathogenicity of monokaryotic (monokaryon) and dikaryotic (dikaryon) mycelia of the oil palm pathogen Ganoderma boninense via metabolomics approach. Ethyl acetate crude extracts of monokaryon and dikaryon were analysed by liquid chromatography quadrupole/time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-Q/TOF-MS) coupled with multivariate data analysis using MetaboAnalyst. The mummichog algorithm was also used to identify the functional activities of monokaryon and dikaryon without a priori identification of all their secondary metabolites. Results revealed that monokaryon produced lesser fungal metabolites than dikaryon, suggesting that monokaryon had a lower possibility of inducing plant infection. These findings were further supported by the identified functional activities. Monokaryon exhibits tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan metabolism, which are important for fungal growth and development and to produce toxin precursors. In contrast, dikaryon exhibits the metabolism of cysteine and methionine, arginine and proline, and phenylalanine, which are important for fungal growth, development, virulence, and pathogenicity. As such, monokaryon is rendered non-pathogenic as it produces growth metabolites and toxin precursors, whereas dikaryon is pathogenic as it produces metabolites that are involved in fungal growth and pathogenicity. The LC-MS-based metabolomics approach contributes significantly to our understanding of the pathogenesis of Ganoderma boninense, which is essential for disease management in oil palm plantations.