o‐Hydroxyethylorutin‐Mediated Enhancement of Tomato Resistance to Botrytis cinerea depends on a Burst of Reactive Oxygen Species

Abstract

o‐Hydroxyethylorutin, when applied exogenously to tomato plants was effective in enhancing resistance to Botrytis cinerea infection. Two tomato cultivars, high and low in susceptibility to B. cinerea, were analysed for superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide generation rates, for changes in lipid peroxidation and activities in superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase. The reactions observed in uninfected tomato plants, in plants infected with B. cinerea, and in those treated with o‐hydroxyethylorutin and infected with the pathogen were compared. The most significant increase in superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide generation was observed in plants pretreated with o‐hydroxyethylorutin and then infected with the pathogen. It was greater and generally occurred earlier in pretreated, less susceptible plants as compared to more susceptible ones. Some decrease in ascorbate peroxidase activity resulting from inoculation with B. cinerea plants pretreated with o‐hydroxyethylorutin was observed in studied plants. The results indicate that o‐hydroxyethylorutin‐induced tomato resistance to B. cinerea infection depends on its stimulation of reactive oxygen species generation and they confirm the important role of enhanced production of ROS in induced plant resistance reactions.

Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in sitiens, an Abscisic Acid-Deficient Tomato Mutant, Involves Timely Production of Hydrogen Peroxide and Cell Wall Modifications in the Epidermis

“…Nevertheless, the role of ROS in defense against B. cinerea remains controversial. Some studies suggest a positive effect of ROS on plant resistance: Chemical induction of oxidative burst in tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) with O-hydroxyethylorutin resulted in resistance (Malolepsza and Urbanek, 2002) and a biphasic oxidative burst has been reported in bean cells attacked by B. cinerea (Unger et al, 2005). The secondary oxidative burst was much stronger in infections with a nonaggressive rather than with an aggressive strain, which led to the conclusion that ROS-mediated HR-like cell death was able to block B. cinerea.…”

Suppression of the Defence‐Related Oxidative Burst in Bean Leaf Tissue and Bean Suspension Cells by the Necrotrophic Pathogen Botrytis cinerea

“…In our study, oxalic acid was shown to be ineffective as suppressor on bean leaf discs up to a concentration of 10 m m and the maximum amount found in the infected tissue was 0.5 m m (CH Unger & A. von Tiedemann, unpublished data). On the contrary, Małolepsza and Urbanek (2002) could show that an increase of ROI by o ‐hydroxyethylorutin enhanced the resistance against B. cinerea . This result reversibly confirmed our finding of suppression of ROI enhancing the pathogenicity of the pathogen.…”

Nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide in tomato resistance

“…We showed earlier that o-hydroxyethylorutin-a semi-synthetic derivative of rutin, when applied to tomato leaves, limited B. cinerea infection development [31,32]. Higher generation of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion at early infection stages in plants pre-treated with o-hydroxyethylorutin and next inoculated with the pathogen seems to be connected with higher resistance of these plants to infection development.…”

“…We showed earlier, that o-hydroxyethylorutin treatment of tomato plants limited Botrytis cinerea infection development on them [31,32]. o-Hydroxyethylorutin is semi-synthetic, water soluble, derivative of quercetin-3-rhamnoglucoside (rutin).…”