The elicitor protein BcIEB1 and the derived peptide ieb35 provide long‐term plant protection

Abstract

BcIEB is a small protein secreted by the phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea that is recognized as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) by plants. This activity is mapped to a highly conserved region of 35 amino acids, the peptide ieb35.Moreover, it has been shown that the protein and the peptide induce systemic resistance to B. cinerea after their infiltration into tobacco leaves. In this work, the possible use of BcIBE1 or ieb35 as plant protective agents has been tested. Tobacco plants were sprayed, infiltrated, or treated at the seedling stage with the protein or the peptide, and plant susceptibility to pathogens with different lifestyles was then studied at various times after treatment. The results showed that both BcIEB1 and ieb35 caused a similar reduction in the lesion sizes caused by B. cinerea and in colonization by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci (reduced by c. 30% and c. 40%, respectively), independently of the treatment type. In addition, the number of B. cinerea inoculations leading to successful infections was also reduced in plants infiltrated or sprayed with BcIEB1/ieb35. The defence-related genes PR1a, NPR1, and osmotin ap24 were all induced by the protein and the peptide. BcIEB1, and especially ieb35, may be considered as a potential environmentally friendly treatment to increase plant resistance to pathogens. K E Y W O R D S Botrytis cinerea, elicitor, plant immunity, plant protection, systemic response S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Pérez-Hernández A, González M, González C, Brito N. The elicitor protein BcIEB1 and the derived peptide ieb35 provide long-term plant protection.

TheBotrytis cinereaCrh transglycosylae is a cytoplasmic effector triggering plant cell death and defense response

“…4c). Thus, along with cell death inducing activity BcCrh1 also triggers plant defense responses, similar to the vast majority of B. cinerea NIPs 5,12,13,14,15,16,24,25 . Since BcCrh1 does not induce cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana, we produced A. thaliana transgenic lines that express the BcCrh1 protein and tested their sensitivity to infection by the fungus (Supplementary Fig.…”

Advances in Fungal Elicitor-Triggered Plant Immunity

“…This review summarizes recent advances in fungal elicitor-triggered plant immunity, including classification of fungal elicitors, the receptors of fungal elicitors, and signaling pathways of fungal elicitor-triggered plant immunity, which provides significant insights into plant–microbe interactions and plant disease control. Identification of novel elicitors is an important research topic in plant pathology because elicitors can be directly utilized in plant disease control and usually provide long-term plant protection [ 171 ]. Although many fungal elicitors have been identified ( Table 1 ), little is known about elicitors in post-harvest fungal diseases mainly on fruit, which causes serious economic losses every year [ 172 , 173 ].…”