Induced plant resistance and salicylic acid: A review

Current understanding of the involvement of salicylic acid (SA) in the formation of plant resistance has been reviewed. SA acts as a signal molecule in the SA-dependent pathway. The so-called salicylate burst observed in tissues of plants after stress increases their resistance. The mechanism whereby SA induces plant resistance depends on the ability of this compound to inhibit the enzymes of the antioxidant system of plants, which results in the accumulation of active oxygen species and the expression of defense genes.     

Rhizobacterial salicylate production provokes headaches!

Background

Salicylic acid (SA) is produced in significant amounts by certain plant growth promoting rhizosphere bacteria, and some of these rhizobacteria have the ability to induce systemic resistance against diseases in plants. Exogenous application of SA to plants has long been known to lead to protection against a range of plant pathogens through the elicitation of systemic acquired resistance. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the SA producing plant beneficial rhizobacteria elicit induced resistance through the production of SA.

Scope and conclusions

However, we discuss here that bacterial secretion of SA in vitro appears to be an artifact and that the bacteria will normally incorporate SA into SA-containing metabolites, mainly SA-based siderophores, under environmental conditions. Therefore, we argue that rhizobacteria do not likely excrete free SA into the rhizosphere thereby not inducing resistance in plants through this metabolite. SA detected in the rhizosphere is most likely produced by the plant and we discuss the impact of this phenolic compound on microbial interactions.     

Overproduction of salicylic acid in plants by bacterial transgenes enhances pathogen resistance

After a hypersensitive response to invading pathogens, plants show elevated accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), induced expression of plant defense genes, and systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to further infection by a broad range of pathogens. There is compelling evidence that SA plays a crucial role in triggering SAR. We have transformed tobacco with two bacterial genes coding for enzymes that convert chorismate into SA by a two-step process. When the two enzymes were targeted to the chloroplasts, the transgenic (CSA, constitutive SA biosynthesis) plants showed a 500- to 1,000-fold increased accumulation of SA and SA glucoside compared to control plants. Defense genes, particularly those encoding acidic pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, were constitutively expressed in CSA plants. This expression did not affect the plant phenotype, but the CSA plants showed a resistance to viral and fungal infection resembling SAR in nontransgenic plants.     

Involvement of salicylic acid in induction of nematode resistance in plants

The role of salicylic acid (SA) as a possible signaling component in the case of the infection of plants with nematodes has been studied using a model system consisting of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum (Mill.) and race 1 of the gall eelworm Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White, 1919; Chitwood, 1949). The preplanting SA treatment of tomato seeds results in an increased nematode resistance of susceptible tomato cultivars; the protective effect is higher in the case of SA combined with chitosan, a biogenic elicitor of plant resistance. The studied preparations stimulate the growth and development of the plants. The increase in the resistance of tomato plants is related to the increased activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and an increased SA content in plant tissues infected with nematodes; both these factors significantly influence nematode development.     

Is the High Basal Level of Salicylic Acid Important for Disease Resistance in Potato?

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants contain a high basal level of salicylic acid (SA), the role of which in disease resistance is currently unclear. Here we report that, in spite of a drastic reduction in total SA levels in transgenic potato plants expressing the bacterial salicylate hydroxylase gene (nahG), there was no significant increase in disease severity when infected by Phytophthora infestans. Therefore, the high basal level of SA does not lead to constitutive resistance in healthy potato plants. However, in contrast to control plants, arachidonic acid failed to induce systematic acquired resistance (SAR) in nahG plants against P. infestans, indicating an essential role of SA in potato SAR. These results suggest that in potato the development of SAR against P. infestans may involve increased sensitivity of the plant to SA.     

The plant hormone salicylic acid interacts with the mechanism of anti‐herbivory conferred by fungal endophytes in grasses

The plant hormone salicylic acid (SA) is recognized as an effective defence against biotrophic pathogens, but its role as regulator of beneficial plant symbionts has received little attention. We studied the relationship between the SA hormone and leaf fungal endophytes on herbivore defences in symbiotic grasses. We hypothesize that the SA exposure suppresses the endophyte reducing the fungal‐produced alkaloids. Because of the role that alkaloids play in anti‐herbivore defences, any reduction in their production should make host plants more susceptible to herbivores. Lolium multiflorum plants symbiotic and nonsymbiotic with the endophyte Epichloë occultans were exposed to SA followed by a challenge with the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi. We measured the level of plant resistance to aphids, and the defences conferred by endophytes and host plants. Symbiotic plants had lower concentrations of SA than did the nonsymbiotic counterparts. Consistent with our prediction, the hormonal treatment reduced the concentration of loline alkaloids (i.e., N‐formyllolines and N‐acetylnorlolines) and consequently decreased the endophyte‐conferred resistance against aphids. Our study highlights the importance of the interaction between the plant immune system and endophytes for the stability of the defensive mutualism. Our results indicate that the SA plays a critical role in regulating the endophyte‐conferred resistance against herbivores.     

Chloroisonicotinamide derivative induces a broad range of disease resistance in rice and tobacco

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a potent innate immunity system in plants that is effective against a broad range of pathogens. SAR in dicotyledonous plants such as tobacco and Arabidopsis has been partially elucidated and is mediated by salicylic acid (SA). However, the SAR mechanism of monocotyledonous rice plants remains to be clarified, although some similarities between SAR mechanisms in both types have been reported. Here we have characterized N-cyanomethyl-2-chloroisonicotinamide (NCI) as an effective SAR inducer in both plant species. Soil drench application of NCI induces a broad range of disease resistance in tobacco and rice and, more specifically, PR gene expression in tobacco. Both SA measurements in wild-type NCI-treated tobacco and pathogenic infection studies using NahG transgenic tobacco plants indicate that NCI-induced resistance enhancement does not require SA. Therefore, it is suggested that NCI induces SAR by triggering signaling at the same level as or downstream of SA accumulation as do both benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester and 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid. The fact that all of these chemicals are effective in rice and tobacco suggests that several common components function in disease resistance in both plant species.     

Role of salicylic acid in plant abiotic stress

Salicylic acid (SA) plays many roles in plant physiology. Besides pathogenesis-related resistance, SA is involved in the response to abiotic stress. However, the effects of SA on plant resistance to abiotic stress were found contradictionary, and the actual role of SA in abiotic stress remains unresolved. Generally, deficiency of SA or a very high level of SA increase the plant susceptibility to abiotic stress. The optimal levels for the highest stress tolerance range from 0.1 mM to 0.5 mM for most plants. But the role of SA at a certain level in moderate and severe abiotic stress may be different. This can be attributed to redox regulations in plant cells. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and SA, and propose a subsequent intracellular signal transduction network of SA and ROS under abiotic stress. Anti-stress substances besides antioxidant enzymes induced by SA are also summarized.     

The interaction with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi or Trichoderma harzianum alters the shoot hormonal profile in melon plants

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Trichoderma harzianum are known to affect plant growth and disease resistance through interaction with phytohormone synthesis or transport in the plant. Cross-talk between these microorganisms and their host plants normally occurs in nature and may affect plant resistance. Simultaneous quantification in the shoots of melon plants revealed significant changes in the levels of several hormones in response to inoculation with T. harzianum and two different AMF (Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae). Analysis of zeatin (Ze), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in the shoot showed common and divergent responses of melon plants to G. intraradices and G. mosseae. T. harzianum effected systemic increases in Ze, IAA, ACC, SA, JA and ABA. The interaction of T. harzianum and the AMF with the plant produced a characteristic hormonal profile, which differed from that produced by inoculation with each microorganism singly, suggesting an attenuation of the plant response, related to the hormones SA, JA and ethylene. These results are discussed in relation to their involvement in biomass allocation and basal resistance against Fusarium wilt.     

Salicylic Acid Is Not the Translocated Signal Responsible for Inducing Systemic Acquired Resistance but Is Required in Signal Transduction

Infection of plants by necrotizing pathogens can induce broad-spectrum resistance to subsequent pathogen infection. This systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is thought to be triggered by a vascular-mobile signal that moves throughout the plant from the infected leaves. A considerable amount of evidence suggests that salicylic acid (SA) is involved in the induction of SAR. Because SA is found in phloem exudate of infected cucumber and tobacco plants, it has been proposed as a candidate for the translocated signal. To determine if SA is the mobile signal, grafting experiments were performed using transgenic plants that express a bacterial SA-degrading enzyme. We show that transgenic tobacco root-stocks, although unable to accumulate SA, were fully capable of delivering a signal that renders nontransgenic scions resistant to further pathogen infection. This result indicated that the translocating, SAR-inducing signal is not SA. Reciprocal grafts demonstrated that the signal requires the presence of SA in tissues distant from the infection site to induce systemic resistance.     

Production of 6-methylsalicylic acid by expression of a fungal polyketide synthase activates disease resistance in tobacco

Salicylic acid (SA) has been shown to act as a signal molecule that is produced by many plants subsequent to the recognition of potentially pathogenic microbes. Increases in levels of SA often trigger the activation of plant defenses and can result in increased resistance to subsequent challenge by pathogens. We observed that the polyketide 6-methylsalicylic acid (6-MeSA), a compound that apparently is not endogenous to tobacco, can mimic SA. Tobacco leaves treated with 6-MeSA show enhanced accumulation of the pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins PR1, beta-1,3-glucanase, and chitinase and also develop increased resistance to tobacco mosaic virus. We transformed tobacco with 6msas, the 6-methylsalicylic acid synthase (6MSAS) gene from Penicillium patulum, to generate plants that constitutively accumulate 6-MeSA. Analysis of primary transformants and the first generation progeny of 6MSAS tobacco revealed that plants can be engineered to accumulate significant amounts of 6-MeSA as a conjugate. Levels of total 6-MeSA increased with plant age. Increased 6-MeSA accumulation correlated with increased levels of PR1 and chitinase proteins and resulted in enhanced resistance of NN genotype 6MSAS tobacco to tobacco mosaic virus. Our results demonstrate that a multistep biosynthetic pathway can be engineered into plants using a single fungal polyketide synthase gene. The functional expression of 6msas can be used to activate disease resistance pathways that normally are induced by SA.     

The Role of Salicylic Acid Signal in Plant Growth,Development and Abiotic Stress

In nature, plants are constantly affected by adverse conditions. Unlike animals, plants can resist these adverse stresses only by insisting on their original positions. Stress can be divided into biological stress and abiotic stress, abiotic stress directly affects the growth, development and yield of plants, it spans all developmental stages from seed germination to senescence. In order to adapt to changing environment, plants have evolved well-developed mechanisms that help to perceive the stress signals and enable optimal growth response. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important endogenous signal molecule in plants, which not only regulate some plant growth and development processes, but also plays an important part in plant stress resistance. Much work about salicylic acid has been done on the immunity of plants to pathogens, and the synthesis and signal transduction of SA are clearly understood, its function in plant growth, development and abiotic stress is also well learned, we systemically summarized the multiple function of SA signal in non-pathogen-related response, such review should help us understand the common but essential function of SA signal in modulating plant growth, development and abiotic stress.     

Simultaneous quantitative LC-ESI-MS/MS analyses of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid in crude extracts of Cucumis sativus under biotic stress

Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are plant hormones involved in basal resistance against plant pathogens and also in induced resistance. The aim of this study is to develop a fast and sensitive method to determine simultaneously the levels of both these hormones. The present paper proposes a method that includes hormone extraction with MeOH-H(2)O-HOAc (90:9:1, v/v), evaporation of the extracts, and injection into the liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) system in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Endogenous SA and JA levels in noninfested control cucumber cotyledons were 30.96 and 0.73ngg(-1) fresh weight, respectively. In roots, the levels were 8.31 and 15.82ngg(-1) FW, respectively. In plants treated with the biological control agent Trichoderma asperellum strain T-34, the levels of SA and JA did not differ from control plants. Rhizoctonia solani-diseased cucumber plants showed higher levels of SA and JA compared to noninfested controls (up to 2 and 13-fold higher, respectively). Detection limits for SA and JA were 0.45 and 0.47ngg(-1) fresh weight, respectively. The results of our research include the development of a method that is both fast and highly sensitive in the simultaneous quantitation of SA and JA from crude cucumber plant extracts, avoiding any purification and derivatization steps.     

ABA和SA对于提高植物抗旱及抗盐性的研究进展

植物受到环境胁迫后体内会产生活性氧自由基等有害物质,破坏质膜透性,导致植物生长受到抑制。经研究发现脱落酸(ABA)和水杨酸(SA)作为植物的生长调节物质对于提高植物抗性,维持植物正常生长具有重要的意义。综述近年来国内外有关ABA和SA提高植物抗性的最新进展,为研究提高植物抗性提供理论参考。     

Phenylpropanoid compounds and disease resistance in transgenic tobacco with altered expression of L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

Tobacco plants over-expressing L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL(+)) produce high levels of chlorogenic acid (CGA) and exhibit markedly reduced susceptibility to infection with the fungal pathogen Cercospora nicotianae, although their resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is unchanged. Levels of the signal molecule salicylic acid (SA) were similar in uninfected PAL(+) and control plants and also following TMV infection. In crosses of PAL(+) tobacco with tobacco harboring the bacterial NahG salicylate hydroxylase gene, progeny harboring both transgenes lost resistance to TMV, indicating that SA is critical for resistance to TMV and that increased production of phenylpropanoid compounds such as CGA cannot substitute for the reduction in SA levels. In contrast, PAL(+)/NahG plants showed strongly reduced susceptibility to Cercospora nicotianae compared to the NahG parent line. These results are consistent with a recent report questioning the role of PAL in SA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis, and highlight the importance of phenylpropanoid compounds such as CGA in plant disease resistance.     

Imprimatins A and B: Novel plant activators targeting salicylic acid metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant activators are agrochemicals that protect plants from a broad range of pathogens by activating the plant immune system. Unlike pesticides, they do not target pathogens; therefore, plant activators provide durable effects that are not overcome by pathogenic microbes. Although certain plant activators have been applied to paddy fields for more than 30 years, the molecular basis of the underlying immune induction are unclear. From the screening of 10,000 diverse chemicals by a high-throughput screening procedure to identify compounds that specifically enhance pathogen-induced cell death in Arabidopsis cultured cells, we identified 7 compounds, which we designated as immune priming chemicals (Imprimatins). These compounds increased disease resistance against pathogenic Pseudomonas bacteria in Arabidopsis plants. Pretreatments increased the accumulation of endogenous salicylic acid (SA) but reduced its metabolite, SA-O-β-D-glucoside (SAG). Imprimatins inhibited the enzymatic activities of 2 SA glucosyltransferases (SAGTs) in vitro at concentrations effective for immune priming. Single and double knockout Arabidopsis plants for both SAGTs consistently exhibited enhanced disease resistance and SA accumulation. Our results demonstrate that the control of the free SA pool through SA-inactivating enzymes can be a useful methodology to confer disease resistance in plants. SAGTs can pave the way for target-based discovery of novel crop protectants.     

Salicylic acid and photosynthesis: signalling and effects

Salicylic acid (SA) is a well-known signalling molecule playing a role in local and systemic acquired resistance against pathogens as well as in acclimation to certain abiotic stressors. As a stress-related signalling compound, it may directly or indirectly affect various physiological processes, including photosynthesis. The effects of exogenously applied SA on plant physiological processes under optimal environmental conditions are controversial. Several studies suggest that SA may have a positive effect on germination or plant growth in various plant species. However, SA may also act as a stress factor, having a negative influence on various physiological processes. Its mode of action depends greatly on several factors, such as the plant species, the environmental conditions (light, temperature, etc.) and the concentration. Exogenous SA may also alleviate the damaging effects of various stress factors, and this protection may also be manifested as higher photosynthetic capacity. Unfavourable environmental conditions have also been shown to increase the endogenous SA level in plants. Recent results strongly suggest that controlled SA levels are important in plants for optimal photosynthetic performance and for acclimation to changing environmental stimuli. The present review discusses the effects of exogenous and endogenous SA on the photosynthetic processes under optimal and stress conditions.