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Dynamics of growth regulators during infection of apple leaves by Alternaria alternata apple pathotype

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Abstract

Alternaria blotch of apple caused by Alternaria alternata apple pathotype has a severe negative effect on apple production. It can cause tissue necrosis on leaves, young shoots and fruit. Recent studies on this pathogen have mostly focused on phytotoxicity and pathogenicity. There are few reports on the roles of signaling and metabolism in the process of infection. In this paper, a filial generation with substantial differences in resistance between individuals with similar genetic background was used as a host. An aggressive strain of A. alternate, that can complete the infection process 72 h after inoculation, served as the pathogen. A reproducible and reliable in vitro inoculation system for plant growth regulator determination was established to overcome the difficulties of inoculation of attached leaves. Alterations in growth regulator concentrations were detected, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), zeatin riboside (ZR), gibberellin A3 (GA3), abscissic acid (ABA) and the polyamines, putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm). Results indicated the plant growth regulators interacted with each other to modulate signaling and metabolic networks. A biotrophic-like phase was inferred to exist before necrosis developed. Gibberellin A3 and ABA appeared to be involved in the phase transformation from the biotrophic-like stage to the necrotrophic stage. Cytokinin, Put and Spd appeared to be related to disease resistance. This study advances our knowledge of the pathological mechanisms of Alternaria blotch on apple and provides useful resources for development of disease control and prevention.

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Abbreviations

SA:

salicylic acid

JA:

jasmonic acid

ET:

ethylene

PGRs:

plant growth regulators

AOS:

activated oxygen species

SEM:

scanning electron microscopy

ELISA:

enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

HPLC:

high-performance liquid chromatography

PI:

post inoculation

IAA:

indole-3-acetic acid

ZR:

zeatin riboside

GA3 :

gibberellin A3

CK:

cytokinin

ABA:

abscissic acid

Put:

putrescine

Spd:

spermidine

Spm:

spermine

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Guodong Kang and Qiang Wang for help with apple breeding, the Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for sample collection, and Zongshan Zhou for assistance in preparing fungal strains. The authors are grateful to the electron microscopy lab at the Institute of Agro-food Science & Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Beijing, P. R. China, 100094), and the Changli Institute of Pomology, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forest (Changli, Hebei Province, China, 066600) for equipment and technical assistance. We also would like to thank Dr. Herb S. Aldwinckle, Kerik D. Cox, Jonathan Oliver and Lisa Jones from Cornell University for editorial assistance. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30900968).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Germplasm Resources Utilization), Ministry of Agriculture Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xingcheng, Liaoning, 125100, People’s Republic of China

    Y. Chen, C. Zhang & P. Cong

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  1. Y. Chen
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  2. C. Zhang
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  3. P. Cong
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Correspondence to P. Cong.

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Chen, Y., Zhang, C. & Cong, P. Dynamics of growth regulators during infection of apple leaves by Alternaria alternata apple pathotype. Australasian Plant Pathol. 41, 247–253 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-012-0128-4

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