Influence of wheat streak mosaic virus infection on phenylpropanoid metabolism and the accumulation of phenolics and lignin in wheat

Wheat plants infected with wheat streak mosaic virus were studied for their physiological response to infection. Previous histological data suggest that wheat streak mosaic virus-induced deposits of phenolic nature are present along the bundle sheath and mesophyll cell walls. In this study, we examined this phenomenon further by analysis of phenolic compounds and enzymes involved in their synthesis. In infected plants, the amounts of free and wall-bound phenolic compounds increased slightly, and chromatography showed that the type of free phenolic compounds present had changed. The amount of lignin did not change due to infection. Enzyme assays showed that while phenylalanine ammonia lyase and tyrosine ammonia lyase activities decreased as they do in healthy plants, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase activity stayed high throughout infection. In addition, peroxidase activities in infected plants decreased around the time that the leaves ceased to expand. These results suggest that the general phenylpropanoid pathway is stimulated upon infection, but that lignification is not.