Association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influences alkaloid synthesis and accumulation in Catharanthus roseus and Nicotiana tabacum plants

Frequently disregarded, plant associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can influence plant specialized metabolism with important ecological and/or economic implications. In this study, we report on both the influence of mycorrhization on the content of a wide range of alkaloids and differential gene expression of some enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthetic pathways in the leaves and roots of Catharanthus roseus and Nicotiana tabacum plants. These plants were divided into several treatments: mycorrhizal, inoculated with AMF; non-AMF inoculated plants; and non-AMF inoculated plants with an extra supply of phosphorus. The contents of vindoline, vinblastine, vincristine, catharanthine, ajmalicine and serpentine in C. roseus and of nicotine, anabasine and nornicotine in N. tabacum tobacco plants were determined. Mycorrhizal inoculation increased ajmalicine and serpentine contents in C. roseus roots suggesting that mycorrhization had a greater influence on the accumulation of alkaloids in roots than it did in shoots. The youngest leaves of mycorrhizal C. roseus plants showed lower transcript levels of the genes analysed; however, in older leaves, the expression levels were higher when compared with the leaves of non-mycorrhizal plants. In the case of tobacco, higher leaf to root ratios for nicotine and anabasine were found in plants with a mycorrhizal association. Our results showed that mycorrhization changed the alkaloid content and expression pattern of the genes analysed in both species; however, differences were found between the roots and shoots. In nature, such changes may have a direct influence on the interactions between plants and insects (herbivory) and pathogens. These interactions must be studied further to reveal the ecological influence mycorrhizae may have on chemical defences in a broader sense.