European Journal of Plant Pathology (2014) 138, 331-345

Tania Falcioni, Juan Pedro Ferrio, Ana Isabel del Cueto, Jordi Giné, María Ángeles Achón and Vicente Medina (2014)
Effect of salicylic acid treatment on tomato plant physiology and tolerance to Potato virus X infection
European Journal of Plant Pathology 138 (2), 331-345
Abstract: Salicylic acid (SA) is an inducer of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and could be a potential candidate in the control of plant virus diseases. In this study we assayed under controlled conditions the potential effect of three doses of exogenous SA treatment on tomato plants infected with Potato virus X (PVX) and measured their effects on: different physiological parameters (gas exchange, stable isotopes, chlorophyll content), the activation of secondary metabolism, viral accumulation and induction of the expression of pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs) such as ß-1, 3-glucanase (PR2) and chitinase (PR3). SA treatment increased the expression of PR2, the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and the concentration of antioxidant compounds at 7 days post-treatment. Earlier expression of PR3 compared to PR2 was observed. SA treatment delayed the detection of PVX by ELISA in uninoculated leaves of mechanically infected tomato plants. Although the effect of PVX infection on physiological parameters was weak, moderate SA treatments showed enhanced photosynthesis, particularly for infected plants. The results obtained confirm that SA promotes major changes in the induction of resistance in tomato plants and suggest that treatment with exogenous SA could be considered to reduce the infections caused by PVX.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): María Ángeles Achon, Vicente Medina

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Potato virus X	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)