Benzothiadiazole Enhances Resveratrol and Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Grapevine, Meanwhile Improving Resistance toBotrytis cinerea

Abstract

Pre-harvest multiple treatments of grapevine (cv. Merlot) with the plant activator benzothiadiazole (BTH, 0.3 mM) enhanced trans-resveratrol content in berries by about 40%. An even more striking effect was observed on anthocyanin synthesis, particularly on malvidine 3-glucoside, malvidine 3-(6-O-acetyl)glucoside and malvidine 3-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)glucoside, whose amounts were more than doubled. These data were obtained with a novel and time-saving HPLC method, set up for the simultaneous detection of stilbenes and anthocyanins, using an RF-10Axl fluorimetric detector instrument, with excitation at 330 nm and emission at 374 nm, and a SPD-Avp UV detector with absorption at 520 nm. Furthermore, BTH treatments induced systemic acquired resistance in grapevine, as assessed by inoculating clusters from treated and untreated plants with Botrytis cinerea. Disease severity, estimated according to the percentage of infected berries per cluster, was significantly reduced in grapes from BTH-treated plants. These results indicate that BTH treatments, besides improving the content of two important classes of nutraceuticals, with their well-known antioxidant, antitumoral, and phytoestrogenic activities, could be exploited in vineyard to protect grape against gray mould infection, thereby limiting an excessive use of fungicides

Benzothiadiazole Induces the Accumulation of Phenolics and Improves Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Strawberries

“…Consistent with our results, accumulation of resveratrol, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins was found in grapevine after BTH treatment applied four weeks before the harvest (10, 21). In grapes, the higher phenolic content was linked to the enhanced resistance against Botrytis cinerea in the fruits (10). Preharvest BTH treatment has also given protection against postharvest gray mold in strawberries (15), suggesting that BTH causes long-term changes in secondary metabolism, which might not only improve resistance to pathogens but also influence the nutritional value and bioactive properties of the crop (22).…”

“…What ultimately causes the improved resistance varies, since a different set of secondary metabolites and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins may be synthesized depending on the plant family and species. However, the accumulation of soluble or cell-wall-bound phenolics has been observed along with enhanced resistance to pathogens in many plants (e.g., 4, 6,10). Benzothiadiazole (BTH), the functional analogue of salicylic acid, has been found to strongly induce defense reactions and production of phenolics (6,10,11).…”

Identification of Putative Stage-Specific Grapevine Berry Biomarkers and Omics Data Integration into Networks

“…The metabolome data set showed that stilbenes (38, 128, and 230), flavanones (7, 18, 19, 20, 46, 68, 69, 72, 83, and 185), and acylated anthocyanins (12, 13, 22, 35, 36, 58, 60, 81, 107, 112, 115, 127, 215, 237, 247, 280, and 380) are the predominant metabolites that accumulate during withering, with stilbenes and flavonones already implicated in stress responses (Dercks and Creasy, 1989;Adrian et al, 1997;Versari et al, 2001;Bonello and Blodgett, 2003) and a similar role likely for acetylated anthocyanins. The treatment of Merolt grapevine with benzothiadiazole increases the synthesis of trans-resveratrol and anthocyanins, particularly malvidine-3-glucoside and its acylated derivates, and thus enhances resistance to Botrytis cinerea (Iriti et al, 2004). The acetylated anthocyanins that accumulate during withering are mostly coumarate derivates that are important in winemaking because they influence pigmentation and increase light absorption, thus affecting red wine color (Iriti et al, 2004).…”

“…The treatment of Merolt grapevine with benzothiadiazole increases the synthesis of trans-resveratrol and anthocyanins, particularly malvidine-3-glucoside and its acylated derivates, and thus enhances resistance to Botrytis cinerea (Iriti et al, 2004). The acetylated anthocyanins that accumulate during withering are mostly coumarate derivates that are important in winemaking because they influence pigmentation and increase light absorption, thus affecting red wine color (Iriti et al, 2004). Acylation can also increase anthocyanin activity (Yoshimoto et al, 2001).…”

Induced Changes in Phenolic Composition of Wines After Foliar Application of Eugenol and Guaiacol Solutions to Grapevines

“…(Figures 1B (b,c)). Other preharvest chemical treatments such as benzothiadiazole and chitosan (Iriti, Rossoni, Borgo, & Faoro, 2004) increased the content of t-resveratrol in grapes. Although the increase of stilbenes in the grapes could be due to a stress produced to the plants (Roldán, Palacios, Caro, & Pérez, 2003), it also depended on the chemical nature of the compounds applied, such as eugenol which produced the highest increase of stilbenes.…”