Basal Defence Responses (basal + defence_response)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Induced Resistance by , -Aminobutyric Acid in Artichoke against White Mould Caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

JOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 10 2010
Emanuela Marcucci
Abstract ,-aminobutyric acid (BABA) was assessed for the ability to protect two artichoke cultivars, C3 and Exploter, against white mould caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which represents a major problem in the cultivation of this crop in many growing areas of Central Italy. Changes in the activity and isoenzymatic profiles of the pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins ,-1,3-glucanase, chitinase and peroxidase in plantlets upon BABA treatment and following inoculation of the pathogen in plantlets and leaves detached from adult plants were also investigated as molecular markers of induced resistance and priming. BABA treatments by soil drenching induced a high level of resistance against S. sclerotiorum in artichoke plantlets of both cultivars C3 and Exploter with a similar level of protection and determined a consistent increase in peroxidase activity paralleled with the differential induction of alkaline isoenzyme with a pI 8.6. A consistent change was found in Exploter in the peroxidase activity following BABA treatments and pathogen inoculation and was paralleled with the expression of an anionic band in plantlets and both anionic and cationic bands in leaves. Our results showed a correlation between BABA-induced resistance (BABA-IR) and a augmented capacity to express basal defence responses, more pronounced in cultivar C3 and associated ,-1,3-glucanase accumulation in both plantlets and leaves inoculated with the pathogen, whereas chitinase resulted affected only at plantlet stage. The present results represent the first one showing the effect of BABA in inducing resistance in artichoke and associated accumulation of selected PRs. If confirmed in field tests, the use of BABA at early plant stages may represent a promising approach to the control soilborne pathogens, such as the early infection of S. sclerotiorum. [source]


Type III effectors orchestrate a complex interplay between transcriptional networks to modify basal defence responses during pathogenesis and resistance

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006
William Truman
Summary To successfully infect a plant, bacterial pathogens inject a collection of Type III effector proteins (TTEs) directly into the plant cell that function to overcome basal defences and redirect host metabolism for nutrition and growth. We examined (i) the transcriptional dynamics of basal defence responses between Arabidopsis thaliana and Pseudomonas syringae and (ii) how basal defence is subsequently modulated by virulence factors during compatible interactions. A set of 96 genes displaying an early, sustained induction during basal defence was identified. These were also universally co-regulated following other bacterial basal resistance and non-host responses or following elicitor challenges. Eight hundred and eighty genes were conservatively identified as being modulated by TTEs within 12 h post-inoculation (hpi), 20% of which represented transcripts previously induced by the bacteria at 2 hpi. Significant over-representation of co-regulated transcripts encoding leucine rich repeat receptor proteins and protein phosphatases were, respectively, suppressed and induced 12 hpi. These data support a model in which the pathogen avoids detection through diminution of extracellular receptors and attenuation of kinase signalling pathways. Transcripts associated with several metabolic pathways, particularly plastid based primary carbon metabolism, pigment biosynthesis and aromatic amino acid metabolism, were significantly modified by the bacterial challenge at 12 hpi. Superimposed upon this basal response, virulence factors (most likely TTEs) targeted genes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, consistent with the abrogation of lignin deposition and other wall modifications likely to restrict the passage of nutrients and water to the invading bacteria. In contrast, some pathways associated with stress tolerance are transcriptionally induced at 12 hpi by TTEs. [source]


Host and non-host pathogens elicit different jasmonate/ethylene responses in Arabidopsis

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 5 2004
Laurent Zimmerli
Summary Arabidopsis does not support the growth and asexual reproduction of the barley pathogen, Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei Bgh). A majority of germlings fail to penetrate the epidermal cell wall and papillae. To gain additional insight into this interaction, we determined whether the salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonate (JA)/ethylene (ET) defence pathways played a role in blocking barley powdery mildew infections. Only the eds1 mutant and NahG transgenics supported a modest increase in penetration success by the barley powdery mildew. We also compared the global gene expression patterns of Arabidopsis inoculated with the non-host barley powdery mildew to those inoculated with a virulent, host powdery mildew, Erysiphe cichoracearum. Genes repressed by inoculations with non-host and host powdery mildews relative to non-inoculated control plants accounted for two-thirds of the differentially expressed genes. A majority of these genes encoded components of photosynthesis and general metabolism. Consistent with this observation, Arabidopsis growth was inhibited following inoculation with Bgh, suggesting a shift in resource allocation from growth to defence. A number of defence-associated genes were induced during both interactions. These genes likely are components of basal defence responses, which do not effectively block host powdery mildew infections. In addition, genes encoding defensins, anti-microbial peptides whose expression is under the control of the JA/ET signalling pathway, were induced exclusively by non-host pathogens. Ectopic activation of JA/ET signalling protected Arabidopsis against two biotrophic host pathogens. Taken together, these data suggest that biotrophic host pathogens must either suppress or fail to elicit the JA/ET signal transduction pathway. [source]


Proteases in pathogenesis and plant defence

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 10 2004
Yiji Xia
Summary Plant pathogens deliver a variety of virulence factors to host cells to suppress basal defence responses and create suitable environments for their propagation. Plants have in turn evolved disease resistance genes whose products detect the virulence factors as a signal of invasion and activate effective defence responses. Understanding how a virulence effector contributes to virulence on susceptible hosts but becomes an avirulence factor that triggers defence responses on resistance hosts has been a major focus in plant research. Recent studies have shown that a growing list of pathogen-encoded effectors functions as proteases that are secreted into plant cells to modify host proteins. In addition, several plant proteases have been found to function in activation of the defence mechanism. These findings reveal that post-translational modification of host proteins through proteolytic processing is a widely used mechanism in regulating the plant defence response. [source]