Double-sided battle: The role of ethylene during Monilinia spp. infection in peach at different phenological stages

Publication date: Available online 2 October 2019Source: Plant Physiology and BiochemistryAuthor(s): Núria Baró-Montel, Núria Vall-llaura, Jordi Giné-Bordonaba, Josep Usall, Sandra Serrano-Prieto, Neus Teixidó, Rosario TorresAbstractControversy exists on whether ethylene is involved in determining fruit resistance or susceptibility against biotic stress. In this work, the hypothesis that ethylene biosynthesis in peaches at different phenological stages may be modulated by Monilinia spp. was tested. To achieve this, at 49 and 126 d after full bloom (DAFB), ethylene biosynthesis of healthy and infected ‘Merryl O'Henry’ peaches with three strains of Monilinia spp. (M. fructicola (CPMC6) and M. laxa (CPML11 and ML8L) that differ in terms of aggressiveness) was analysed at the biochemical and molecular level along the course of infection in fruit stored at 20 °C. At 49 DAFB, results evidenced that infected fruit showed inhibition of ethylene production in comparison with non-inoculated fruit, suggesting that the three Monilinia strains were somehow suppressing ethylene biosynthesis to modify fruit defences to successfully infect the host. On the contrary, at 126 DAFB ethylene production increased concomitantly with brown rot spread, and values for non-inoculated fruit were almost undetectable throughout storage at 20 °C. The expression of several target genes involved in the ethylene biosynthetic pathway confirmed that they were differentially expressed upon Monil...
Source: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research