P-106 - Analysis of volatile signatures associated with late blight disease

Plants release volatile organic compounds when interacting with pathogens. Among the major pathogens is Phytophthora infestans, which seriously threatens agricultural production. There is still limited information about the volatile substances that plants release in response to a P. infestans infection or those produced by the pathogen itself, even though they have been studied previously. The study focused on testing various static and dynamic headspace techniques and employed advanced high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with gas chromatography to identify and quantify volatile organic compounds produced by pathogen and plants. Utilizing an advanced analytical approach, we identified new cyclic alkanes not described in previous studies, which are promising markers for detecting the presence of pathogen. Furthermore, analysis of plant species with varying resistance to P. infestans from the Solanaceae family revealed that they produce completely different spectra of substances that may play a role in resisting P. infestans. Infected potato plants showed a different response in the accumulation of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, along with a specific increase in aldehydes that were not detected in control plants. Therefore, the work yielded promising results that can be utilized in future studies or applied research for new detection techniques.