Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
NOTULAE BOTANICAE HORTI AGROBOTANICI CLUJ-NAPOCA, cilt.53, sa.1, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Plants continuously interact with diverse biotic and abiotic factors in their environment, and understanding these intricate ecological relationships is crucial for advancing sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation. This study investigates the interactions between wheat plants and mold contaminants in in vitro cultures using Raman Spectroscopy (RS) and biochemical analyses, offering a novel approach to understanding plant responses at a molecular level. Conventional culturing methods identified Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium sp., and Nigrospora sp. as the primary mold strains present in the cultures. Biochemical assays revealed that mold contamination led to a marked decrease in chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, along with an increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), indicating heightened oxidative stress. Antioxidant enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX), and catalase (CAT), were significantly elevated, though proline levels remained unchanged. Raman Spectroscopy further uncovered profound metabolomic shifts, particularly in carotenoid-related peaks, signalling impaired photosynthetic function. Additionally, RS detected increased carbohydrate-associated bands, suggesting that carbohydrate-derived osmolytes may play a more pivotal role than proline in maintaining cellular integrity under mold stress. To validate these findings, advanced multivariate techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were employed, achieving high accuracy in distinguishing mold-infected samples from controls. These results highlight the potential of RS as a rapid, noninvasive diagnostic tool for plant health monitoring, offering significant advantages over traditional methods. applications for enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability in the face of global food security challenges.