As primary producers, plants are under constant pressure to defend themselves against potentially deadly pathogens and herbivores. In this review, we describe short- and long-term strategies that enable plants to cope with these stresses. Apart from internal immunological strategies that involve physiological and (epi)genetic modifications at the cellular level, plants also employ external strategies that rely on recruitment of beneficial organisms. We discuss these strategies along a gradient of increasing timescales, ranging from rapid immune responses that are initiated within seconds to (epi)genetic adaptations that occur over multiple plant generations. We cover the latest insights into the mechanistic and evolutionary underpinnings of these strategies and present explanatory models. Finally, we discuss how knowledge from short-lived model species can be translated to economically and ecologically important perennials to exploit adaptive plant strategies and mitigate future impacts of pests and diseases in an increasingly interconnected and changing world.
Minimizing losses to pests and diseases is essential for producing sufficient food to feed the world's rapidly growing population. The necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea triggers devastating pre-and post-harvest yield losses in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Current control methods are based on the pre-harvest use of fungicides, which are limited by strict legislation. This investigation tested whether induction of resistance by b-aminobutyric acid (BABA) at different developmental stages provides an alternative strategy to protect post-harvest tomato fruit against B. cinerea. Soildrenching plants with BABA once fruit had already formed had no impact on tomato susceptibility to B. cinerea. However, BABA application to seedlings significantly reduced post-harvest infection of fruit. This resistance response was not associated with a yield reduction; however, there was a delay in fruit ripening. Untargeted metabolomics revealed differences between fruit from water-and BABA-treated plants, demonstrating that BABA triggered a defence-associated metabolomics profile that was long lasting. Targeted analysis of defence hormones suggested a role of abscisic acid (ABA) in the resistance phenotype. Post-harvest application of ABA to the fruit of water-treated plants induced susceptibility to B. cinerea. This phenotype was absent from the ABA-exposed fruit of BABA-treated plants, suggesting a complex role of ABA in BABA-induced resistance. A final targeted metabolomic analysis detected trace residues of BABA accumulated in the red fruit. Overall, it was demonstrated that BABA induces post-harvest resistance in tomato fruit against B. cinerea with no penalties in yield.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved II. Stage 1: the regulatory role of pathogen-induced epigenetic change III. Stage 2: genetic consequences of the stress-induced mobilome IV. Stage 3: evolutionary consequences of stress-induced (epi)genetic change V. Conclusions and translation to crop protection Acknowledgements References
In response to various stimuli, plants acquire resistance against pests and/or pathogens. Such acquired or induced resistance allows plants to rapidly adapt to their environment. Spraying the bark of mature Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees with the phytohormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA) enhances resistance to tree-killing bark beetles and their associated phytopathogenic fungi. Analysis of spruce chemical defenses and beetle colonization success suggests that MeJA treatment both directly induces immune responses and primes inducible defenses for a faster and stronger response to subsequent beetle attack. We used metabolite and transcriptome profiling to explore the mechanisms underlying MeJA-induced resistance in Norway spruce. We demonstrated that MeJA treatment caused substantial changes in the bark transcriptional response to a triggering stress (mechanical wounding). Profiling of mRNA expression showed a suite of spruce inducible defenses are primed following MeJA treatment. Although monoterpenes and diterpene resin acids increased more rapidly after wounding in MeJA-treated than control bark, expression of their biosynthesis genes did not. We suggest that priming of inducible defenses is part of a complex mixture of defense responses that underpins the increased resistance against bark beetle colonization observed in Norway spruce. This study provides the most detailed insights yet into the mechanisms underlying induced resistance in a long-lived gymnosperm.
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