ABSTRACT
Aceria pallida is one of the most common pests in the main production areas of Lycium barbarum in China. The mite mainly feeds on foliage, leading to local tissue deformation and formation of massive galls, which seriously affects the growth and yield of L. barbarum. However, little is known about the influence of galling organisms on plant primary and secondary metabolism. In order to compare the metabolites differences between healthy and the mite infested leaves of wolfberry, and provide a scientific basis for the development and utilization of the galled leaves, L. barbarum seedlings were infested with A. pallida artificially in the laboratory, the metabolites of L. barbarum leaves were determined by LC-MS/MS. Our results showed that the leaves were rich in amino acids and flavonoid compounds. A total of 204 compounds from 16 classes were detected in L. barbarum leaves based on LC-MS/MS. The primary metabolites are mainly amino acids, and the secondary metabolites are mainly organic acids and flavonoids. The content of the metabolite in the leaves of L. barbarum was significantly affected by the mite, 30 metabolites such as flavonoids and phenylpropanoids were significantly changed, 21 metabolites were up-regulated and 9 metabolites were down-regulated significantly. There were 8 compounds which has pharmacological and biological activity, such as eriodictyol, isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside and scopoletin up-regulated significantly. Based on the above findings, we suggest that the galled leaves of L.barbarum have a potential to be developed in the future.