Influence of Exogenously Supplemented Caffeine on Cell Division, Germination, and Growth of Economically Important Plants

Abstract

Caffeine is a plant secondary metabolite of antiherbivory, allelopathic, and antibacterial activity. In our previous study, caffeine was shown to be an effective agent toward plant pathogenic bacteria causing high economic losses in crop production worldwide. Current study indicated that growth media supplementation with soil or plant extract did not interfere with antibacterial action of caffeine against Clavibacter michiganensis, Dickeya solani, Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Pseudomonas syringae, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Xanthomonas campestris. The impact of caffeine on plant cell division, seed germination and growth of economically important plants was evaluated to assess possible applicability of caffeine in plant protection field. Caffeine impaired plant cell division process and inhibited in vitro germination of tomato and lettuce. Regeneration of potato explants was also negatively affected by the addition of caffeine. However, caffeine spraying or watering of tomato, lettuce and cabbage grown in soil did not impair plant development. Although the tested plants accumulated caffeine, its inner quantity was reduced by peeling and/or cooking. According to the results, caffeine warrants additional attention as a useful, natural compound designated for the control of bacterial plant pathogens. Proposed treatment seems promising especially in the case of providing protection for overwinter-stored table potato tubers.

Application of Silver Nanostructures Synthesized by Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma for Inactivation of Bacterial Phytopathogens from the Genera Dickeya and Pectobacterium

“…Regarding the effects on plants, the plant species and state of growth, the environmental conditions, and the AgNPs concentration, properties, and mode of application appear to be of crucial significance [ 29 ]. Based on our previous studies on the impact of exogenous caffeine application on plant growth and development [ 52 ] and the studies of Lee et al (2012) [ 53 ], it is expected that there will be lower bioavailability of Ag(I) ions from AgNPs in soil in comparison to the agar medium, which will result in diminished accumulation of Ag(I) ions within the plant biomass. Similarly to what has been stated for soil microbiota, smaller in size NPs are considered to cause greater cellular, physiological, and genotoxicity in plants [ 29 ].…”

Phenylpropane biosynthesis and alkaloid metabolism pathways involved in resistance of Amorphophallus spp. against soft rot disease

“…Alkaloids are natural products widely present in animals and plants that have a range of physiological properties, such as insecticidal, antifungal, anti-tumor, and cytotoxic activities (Thuy et al, 2012;Sledz et al, 2015). Earlier, Kubo et al (2022) isolated a jerveratrum-type steroidal alkaloid from Veratrum californicum with inhibitory effects on Botrytis cinerea and Puccinia recondita.…”

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“…Exogenously supplemented caffeine in concentrations lower than 5 mM significantly enhanced the seed germination rate of tomato plants. However, spraying with 0, 1, 5, or 8 mM of caffeine on the tomato plants grown in soil caused no phytotoxicity symptoms, and did not significantly affect their growth or development as indicated by the plant heights measured after 6 weeks post planting [48]. Seeds that were previously exposed to caffeine led to tomato plants exhibiting a higher accumulation of this compound in its leaf tissues than in the stem or root tissues.…”

“…Moreover, a recent study by Sledz et al [48] illustrated the antibacterial activity of caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) an alkaloid from the C. arabica plant on several bacteria strains such as Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus, Dickeya solani, Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp.…”

“…Seeds that were previously exposed to caffeine led to tomato plants exhibiting a higher accumulation of this compound in its leaf tissues than in the stem or root tissues. Therefore, the level of caffeine accumulation strongly relies on the caffeine application method and differs between the analyzed plant and/ or its organs, whereby the latter is relative to the unequal supply of caffeine within plant species capable of synthesizing caffeine [48]. Despite the pest control benefits of these plant extracts, its application in the field has limitations particularly because the bacteria (Xanthomonas perforans) is a seed-borne pathogen hence seed dressing is of relevance, moreover and the plant extracts have short shelf-life given the high rate of biodegradability, consequently the residual efficacy under field conditions is also limited [49].…”