Differential Phenolic Accumulation in Two Hypericum Species in Response to Inoculation with Diploceras hypericinum and Pseudomonas putida

The genus Hypericum L. (St. John's-wort, Hypericaceae) has received scientific interest in recent years, because it is a source of a variety of bioactive compounds including the phenolics. We determine whether the typical phenolic constituents of Hypericum plants, namely chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, isoquercetine, quercitrine, and quercetine, may be implicated as part of an inducible plant defence response in two St. John's-wort species, Hypericum perforatum L. and Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra. To achieve this objective, greenhouse-grown plantlets were inoculated with the fungal pathogen Diploceras hypericinum and the plant growth promoting bacterium Pseudonomas putida. Phenolic compounds levels of the Hypericum plantlets increased significantly in response to inoculation with both organisms. So far, little effort has been dedicated to investigate whether phenolic compounds are inducible by pathogen/herbivore attack or if they could play a role in plant defence. Results from the study indicate that the phenolic compounds investigated could be involved in the plant defence system and implicated as part of an inducible plant defence response in both St. John's Wort species.