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Light quality affects incidence of powdery mildew, expression of defence-related genes and associated metabolism in cucumber plants

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Abstract

To determine whether light quality affects the incidence of disease, we exposed cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Jinyan No. 4) plants at the 4-leaf stage to white and other monochromatic lights and tested the effects on plant response to Sphaerotheca fuliginea, defence-related gene expression and metabolic changes. Exposure to red light resulted in higher levels of H2O2 and salicylic acid (SA), and stronger expression of defence genes such as PR-1 than exposure to white or other monochromatic lights. In comparison, plants grown under purple and blue light had higher activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and higher level of flavonoids than plants grown under other lights. Furthermore, plants grown under red light were more resistant whilst plants grown under other monochromatic lights were less resistant to Sphaerotheca fuliginea than plants grown under white light. These results suggest a role of red light in light-enhanced resistance, which correlates with enhanced SA-dependent signaling pathway.

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Abbreviations

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

CAD :

cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase

CAT:

catalase

CS :

callose synthase

G-POD:

guaiacol peroxidase

HR:

hypersensitive response

LED:

light emitting diode

PAL:

phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

PPO:

polyphenoloxidase

PR proteins:

pathogenesis-related proteins

SA:

salicylic acid

SAG:

salicylic acid glucosidase

SAR:

systemic acquired resistance

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB119000) and National Key Technology R&D Program of China (2008BADA6B02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, Huajiachi Campus, Zhejiang University, Kaixuan Road 268, Hangzhou, 310029, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Wang, Yu Ping Jiang, Hai Jing Yu, Xiao Jian Xia, Kai Shi & Yan Hong Zhou

  2. Department of Horticulture, Huajiachi Campus, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth, Development and Biotechnology, Agricultural Ministry of China, Zhejiang University, Kaixuan Road 268, Hangzhou, 310029, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Quan Yu

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  1. Hong Wang
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Correspondence to Jing Quan Yu.

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Wang, H., Jiang, Y.P., Yu, H.J. et al. Light quality affects incidence of powdery mildew, expression of defence-related genes and associated metabolism in cucumber plants. Eur J Plant Pathol 127, 125–135 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-009-9577-1

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