MAYSIN IN LEAVES: A KEY ANTIFUNGAL AGENT ACCUMULATED AFTER TRICHODERMA-ACTIVATION OF ISR

POSTIGO, A; AGOSTINI, RB.; CAMPOS BERMUDEZ VA; FARRONI, A.; RIUS, SP.; VARGAS, WA.

Congreso; LIV Reunión Anual Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB); 2018

The genus Trichoderma includes a group of filamentous soil-borne fungi with positive effects on plants. The beneficial strains belonging to this genus act as antagonists of phytopathogenic organisms and stimulate plant immune system to reduce the later incidence of several plant pathogens. One of the most striking phenomena during Trichoderma sp. host root colonization is the priming of plant immunity in distant tissues. When plant defenses are primed, a faster and more effective response is triggered to a subsequent attack by pathogens reducing disease incidence and severity. However, the regulatory processes that mediate the priming of plant defense mediated by Trichoderma sp. is still unknown. Thus, the ability of four different strains of Trichoderma (T. atroviride, T. reesei, T. harzianum and T. virens) to stimulate secondary metabolism in distant leaves is evaluated. In this work, we study the role of secondary metabolites and their connection with plant defense induced by Trichoderma spp. Flavonoid metabolism was analyzed and maysin metabolism was found differentially regulated after priming of plant defenses in maize plants. Fungal growth inhibition and gene expression analysis confirmed the role of maysin as a key antimicrobial compound to control spore germination and pathogen infection in maize leaves.