Database of Arabidopsis Metabolites

Bacterial infection of crops is a major concern for farmers. Depending on the crop, yield losses can be significant. Management of bacterial disease requires applying antibiotic and copper chemical sprays, breeding for disease resistance, and inducing systematic acquired resistance, a type of whole plant immunity. Research using the model plant Arabidopsis has provided insights into plant-microbe interactions. The knowledge gained from researching Arabidopsis can be applied to crops. However, incomplete databases have limited the capabilities of identifying new signaling metabolites that set the basal defense state of Arabidopsis so that these plants can reduce bacterial infections. Analytical and natural products chemistry techniques in combination with omics-based methods are necessary for characterizing a larger suite of bioactive metabolites.