The antioxidant systems vis-à-vis reactive oxygen species during plant–pathogen interaction

Plant resistance to pathogens requires the activation of complex metabolic pathways in the infected cells, aimed at recognizing pathogen presence and hindering its propagation within plant tissues. In spite of this both compatible and incompatible responses induce alterations in plant metabolism, only in the latter the plant is able to efficiently block pathogen penetration without suffering excessive damage. One of the most studied incompatible responses is based on the hypersensitive response (HR), in which cells surrounding the site of pathogen penetration switch on genes encoding for phytoalexin synthesis and other pathogenesis related proteins before activating programmed cell death (PCD). The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a key event in HR. Several enzymatic systems have been proposed to be responsible for the oxidative burst characterizing HR. In this review, the involvement of antioxidant redox systems, in particular those related to ascorbate (ASC) and glutathione (GSH), in activating both compatible and incompatible plant responses is analysed. Increasing lines of evidence indicate that alterations in the levels and/or redox state of ASC and/or GSH, as well as in the activity of their redox enzymes, occur during the HR programme. These alterations do not seem to be a mere consequence of the oxidative stress induced by the massive ROS production, but they are induced as part of the transduction pathways triggering defence responses and PCD. The possibility that ASC and GSH systems are links in a redox signalling chain activating defence strategies is also discussed.     

Foliar aphid feeding recruits rhizosphere bacteria and primes plant immunity against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria in pepper

Background and Aims

Plants modulate defence signalling networks in response to different biotic stresses. The present study evaluated the effect of a phloem-sucking aphid on plant defence mechanisms in pepper (Capsicum annuum) during subsequent pathogen attacks on leaves and rhizosphere bacteria on roots.

Methods

Plants were pretreated with aphids and/or the chemical trigger benzothiadiazol (BTH) 7 d before being challenged with two pathogenic bacteria, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria (Xav) as a compatible pathogen and X. axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag) as an incompatible (non-host) pathogen.

Key Results

Disease severity was noticeably lower in aphid- and BTH + aphid-treated plants than in controls. Although treatment with BTH or aphids alone did not affect the hypersensitive response (HR) against Xag strain 8ra, the combination treatment had a synergistic effect on the HR. The aphid population was reduced by BTH pretreatment and by combination treatment with BTH and bacterial pathogens in a synergistic manner. Analysis of the expression of the defence-related genes Capsicum annum pathogenesis-related gene 9 (CaPR9), chitinase 2 (CaCHI2), SAR8·2 and Lipoxygenase1 (CaLOX1) revealed that aphid infestation resulted in the priming of the systemic defence responses against compatible and incompatible pathogens. Conversely, pre-challenge with the compatible pathogen Xav on pepper leaves significantly reduced aphid numbers. Aphid infestation increased the population of the beneficial Bacillus subtilis GB03 but reduced that of the pathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum SL1931. The expression of defence-related genes in the root and leaf after aphid feeding indicated that the above-ground aphid infestation elicited salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signalling throughout the whole plant.

Conclusions

The findings of this study show that aphid feeding elicits plant resistance responses and attracts beneficial bacterial populations to help the plant cope with subsequent pathogen attacks.     

Short communication. Differential regulation of a glucosyl transferase gene homologue during defence responses in tobacco

The regulation of a glucosyl transferase homologue which is rapidly induced during defence response in tobacco was investigated. Expression of the gene is induced in reasons to wounding and during a hypersensitive response to TMV, but regulation differs in these two responses.Key words: Plant defence, signalling, glucosyl transferase.      

Natural variation in the Pto pathogen resistance gene within species of wild tomato (Lycopersicon). I. Functional analysis of Pto alleles

Disease resistance to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) in the cultivated tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum, and the closely related L. pimpinellifolium is triggered by the physical interaction between plant disease resistance protein, Pto, and the pathogen avirulence protein, AvrPto. To investigate the extent to which variation in the Pto gene is responsible for naturally occurring variation in resistance to Pst, we determined the resistance phenotype of 51 accessions from seven species of Lycopersicon to isogenic strains of Pst differing in the presence of avrPto. One-third of the plants displayed resistance specifically when the pathogen expressed AvrPto, consistent with a gene-for-gene interaction. To test whether this resistance in these species was conferred specifically by the Pto gene, alleles of Pto were amplified and sequenced from 49 individuals and a subset (16) of these alleles was tested in planta using Agrobacterium-mediated transient assays. Eleven alleles conferred a hypersensitive resistance response (HR) in the presence of AvrPto, while 5 did not. Ten amino acid substitutions associated with the absence of AvrPto recognition and HR were identified, none of which had been identified in previous structure-function studies. Additionally, 3 alleles encoding putative pseudogenes of Pto were isolated from two species of Lycopersicon. Therefore, a large proportion, but not all, of the natural variation in the reaction to strains of Pst expressing AvrPto can be attributed to sequence variation in the Pto gene.     

小麦抗条锈基因Yr69的连锁标记开发

抗条锈病基因Yr69对我国小麦条锈菌(Puccinia striiformis f.sp.tritici)小种具有广谱抗性,在小麦抗条锈病育种中具有重要价值.为提高分子标记辅助选择育种的效率,加快Yr69在小麦抗病育种中的应用,本研究利用条锈菌小种CYR34对包含340个小麦家系的'Taichung29/CH7086'...     

Priming for enhanced defence responses by specific inhibition of the Arabidopsis response to coronatine

The priming agent β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) is known to enhance Arabidopsis resistance to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 by potentiating salicylic acid (SA) defence signalling, notably PR1 expression. The molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unknown. A genome-wide microarray analysis of BABA priming during Pst DC3000 infection revealed direct and primed up-regulation of genes that are responsive to SA, the SA analogue benzothiadiazole and pathogens. In addition, BABA was found to inhibit the Arabidopsis response to the bacterial effector coronatine (COR). COR is known to promote bacterial virulence by inducing the jasmonic acid (JA) response to antagonize SA signalling activation. BABA specifically repressed the JA response induced by COR without affecting other plant JA responses. This repression was largely SA-independent, suggesting that it is not caused by negative cross-talk between SA and JA signalling cascades. Treatment with relatively high concentrations of purified COR counteracted BABA inhibition. Under these conditions, BABA failed to protect Arabidopsis against Pst DC3000. BABA did not induce priming and resistance in plants inoculated with a COR-deficient strain of Pst DC3000 or in the COR-insensitive mutant coi1-16. In addition, BABA blocked the COR-dependent re-opening of stomata during Pst DC3000 infection. Our data suggest that BABA primes for enhanced resistance to Pst DC3000 by interfering with the bacterial suppression of Arabidopsis SA-dependent defences. This study also suggests the existence of a signalling node that distinguishes COR from other JA responses.     

小麦条锈菌PsCdc2基因的克隆及在条锈菌侵染小麦后的转录表达分析

【目的】克隆小麦条锈菌细胞分裂基因PsCdc2,分析该基因在条锈菌接种小麦后不同时间点的表达特征。【方法】利用PCR和RT-PCR技术克隆PsCdc2的cDNA序列和基因组序列,采用生物信息学技术预测分析该基因编码蛋白的保守结构域及基本特性,对该蛋白进行系统发育分析,构建进化树;运用实时荧光定量RT-PCR技术,以PsCdc2在夏孢子时期的表达情况为对照,分析该基因在亲和及非亲和互作中不同时间点的表达特征。【结果】PsCdc2基因组序列长2279 bp,由11个外显子和10个内含子构成,开放阅读框为885 bp,编码294个氨基酸,分子量为33.14 kDa,等电点为6.26。编码蛋白含两个保守的激酶特征位点,一个跨膜螺旋区域。PsCdc2基因编码蛋白与小麦秆锈菌、新型隐球菌、玉米瘤黑粉菌等多种真菌的Cdc2高度相似,其中与小麦秆锈菌的Cdc2亲缘关系最近,序列相似性达73.1%。实时荧光定量RT-PCR结果表明,在亲和组合中,该基因在条锈菌接种小麦的前期上调表达,其中接种后12 h时表达量最高,约为夏孢子中表达量的1.62倍,接种后24-268 h,基因表达基本呈下调趋势,其中96 h基因表达量最低,仅为夏孢子时期的0.07倍。在非亲和组合中,该基因表达基本呈下调趋势,在接种后各个时间点的表达量均低于在夏孢子中的表达量,其中接种后12 h时表达量最高,但仅为夏孢子中表达量的0.34倍;接种后96 h表达量最低,为夏孢子中表达量的0.02倍。【结论】PsCdc2可能通过调控条锈菌的细胞周期循环参与了侵染前期初生菌丝生长和吸器母细胞的形成,与条锈菌的致病性相关。本文首次报道了小麦条锈菌的Cdc2基因,为进一步揭示条锈菌细胞周期调控的本质及研究开发靶向Cdc2的新型农药,以及实现对小麦条锈病的新型药剂防治提供了理论基础。