Color-dependent defense mechanisms of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) against Spodoptera exigua: metabolomic and transcriptomic insights

Abstract

Background: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) exhibits a diverse and complex response to various organisms and environmental factors. The Spodoptera exigua elicits varying levels of damage in different crops. Secondary metabolites in quinoa induce defense mechanisms against S. exigua and play a key role in influencing its feeding preferences. Although the co-evolution of quinoa and S. exigua has been explored, the understanding of the interaction between these species remains limited. We aimed to evaluate the defense mechanisms of differently colored quinoa (red, white, yellow, and black) against S. exigua using metabolomics and transcriptome analyses. Metabolomic analysis was used to identify insect-resistant metabolites in four differently colored quinoa cultivars, whereas transcriptome analysis was used to explore related pathways and gene associations. Results: Quinoa resistant cultivars has higher levels of protective metabolites and mechanisms. Quinoa constitutive defense refers to the significant metabolism of ferulic compounds and lignin in plants to enhance their own resistance. Meanwhile, a significant expression of anthelmintic differential metabolites, including indole 3-acetic acid, choline, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and anthranilic acid, was observed. The structural genes regulated by kaempferol (3,5,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavone) and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, along with genes downstream of quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside and MYB/MYB-related transcription factor, exhibited high expression levels in all four colors of insect-resistant quinoa. Among all quinoa cultivars, the red quinoa cultivar showed the most distinct variation in metabolite species and contents, insect-resistance was also relatively high. Conclusions: These findings reveal that the types of different metabolites and MYB/MYB related transcription factors play a crucial role in influencing the expression of genes related to quinoa color and regulation, as well as in distinguishing the insect resistance of quinoa with different colors. These findings provide a basis for selecting and identifying new insect-resistant differently colored quinoa cultivars.