Central Metabolic Responses to Ozone and Herbivory Affect Photosynthesis and Stomatal Closure

Plants have evolved adaptive mechanisms that allow them to tolerate a continuous range of abiotic and biotic stressors. Tropospheric ozone (O₃), a global anthropogenic pollutant, directly affects living organisms and ecosystems, including plant-herbivore interactions. In this study, we investigate the stress responses of Brassica nigra (wild black mustard) exposed consecutively to O₃ and the specialist herbivore Pieris brassicae Transcriptomics and metabolomics data were evaluated using multivariate, correlation, and network analyses for the O₃ and herbivory responses. O₃ stress symptoms resembled those of senescence and phosphate starvation, while a sequential shift from O₃ to herbivory induced characteristic plant defense responses, including a decrease in central metabolism, induction of the jasmonic acid/ethylene pathways, and emission of volatiles. Omics network and pathway analyses predicted a link between glycerol and central energy metabolism that influences the osmotic stress response and stomatal closure. Further physiological measurements confirmed that while O₃ stress inhibited photosynthesis and carbon assimilation, sequential herbivory counteracted the initial responses induced by O₃, resulting in a phenotype similar to that observed after herbivory alone. This study clarifies the consequences of multiple stress interactions on a plant metabolic system and also illustrates how omics data can be integrated to generate new hypotheses in ecology and plant physiology.