Soft mechanical stimulus induces resistance against Botrytis cinerea in cultivated strawberry

REQUENA SERRA, FERNANDO J.; TOMAS GRAU, RODRIGO H; MARTÍNEZ ZAMORA, MARTÍN G.; DIAZ RICCI, JUAN C; HAEL-CONRAD, VERÓNICA

Córdoba

Congreso; 52º Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB); 2016

SAIB

We have previously reported SMS induced protection in strawberry plants (Fragaria ananassa) against B. cinerea. Thus, the aim of the present work was to further investigate characteristic biochemical defense parameters induced by SMS during F. ananassa-B. cinerea interaction. For SMS treatment, leaflets were gently rubbed with fingers, whereas SMS-untreated plants were used as controls. Then all plants were infected with B. cinerea (5x104 conidia/ml)and disease symptoms were evaluated 2, 4, 6 and 8 days post infection by quantification of lesion diameter (mm). During the plant-pathogen interaction, fungal colonization, ROS burst (H2O2) and callose deposition, were evaluated. In line with SMS-induced protection, we observed that treated plants could considerably restrict pathogen growth respect to controls, and accumulated less H2O2. It was also observed that non-infected tissue surrounding the lesion site presented high callose depositions. It is likely that callose is acting as an induced-protective barrier that restricts B. cinerea infection when compared to untreated control plants. Finally, based on these results, we can conclude that SMS-induced protection against B. cinerea is accompanied by some biochemical responses, which delay pathogen infection.