folate precursor para-aminobenzoic acid elicits induced resistance against Cucumber mosaic virus and Xanthomonas axonopodis

• Published in: Annals of botany 2013-05, Vol.111 (5), p.925-934
• Main Authors: Song, Geun Cheol, Choi, Hye Kyung, Ryu, Choong-Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 4-Aminobenzoic Acid - chemistry; 4-Aminobenzoic Acid - pharmacology; Capsicum - genetics; Capsicum - immunology; Capsicum - microbiology; Capsicum - virology; Capsicum annuum; cost effectiveness; crops; Cucumber mosaic virus; Cucumovirus - drug effects; Cucumovirus - physiology; Disease Resistance - drug effects; Disease Resistance - genetics; Disease Resistance - immunology; field experimentation; folic acid; Folic Acid - chemistry; Folic Acid - metabolism; fruit yield; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects; genes; greenhouses; Original; pepper; Plant Diseases - immunology; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Diseases - virology; plant pathogens; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; RNA; seedlings; systemic acquired resistance; thiamin; tobacco; Transcription, Genetic - drug effects; Xanthomonas axonopodis; Xanthomonas axonopodis - drug effects; Xanthomonas axonopodis - physiology
• ISSN: 0305-7364; 1095-8290
• DOI: 10.1093/aob/mct049

Background and AimsThe use of vitamins including vitamin B1, B2 and K3 for the induction of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to protect crops against plant pathogens has been evaluated previously. The use of vitamins is beneficial because it is cost effective and safe for the environment. The use of folate precursors, including ortho-aminobenzoic acid, to induce SAR against a soft-rot pathogen in tobacco has been reported previously.MethodsIn the present study, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA, also referred to as vitamin Bx) was selected owing to its effect on the induction of SAR against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria in pepper plants through greenhouse screening.Key ResultsDipping of pepper seedlings in a 1 mm PABA solution in field trials induced SAR against artificially infiltrated X. axonopodis pv. vesicatoria and naturally occurring cucumber mosaic virus. Expression of the Capsicum annuum pathogenesis-related 4 gene was primed in response to pathogen infection as assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. The accumulation of cucumber mosaic virus RNA was reduced in PABA-treated pepper plants at 40 and 105 d post-treatment. Unexpectedly, fruit yield was increased in PABA-treated plants, indicating that PABA-mediated SAR successfully protected pepper plants from infection by bacterial and viral pathogens without significant fitness allocation costs.ConclusionsThe present study is the first to demonstrate the effective elicitation of SAR by a folate precursor under field conditions.