Abstract
Treatment of tobacco with a mixture containing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and salicylic acid (SA) provided greater protection of tobacco against infection by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci than either treatment alone. Synergism in expression from the promoter of the defense gene PR-1a was also observed. Although the ROS hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid were poor inducers alone, they enhanced the level of β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity expressed from the PR-1a promoter when applied with SA to a transgenic plant bearing a PR-1a::GUS fusion. PR-1a expression was not correlated with increased cell death as determined by Evans blue staining. There was no effect on the timing at which expression was increased by the mixture compared with the separate treatments. The mixture of hydrogen peroxide and SA partially mimicked the effect of a commercial product Oxycom™ that has field efficacy in improving plant performance. Repetitive applications of Oxycom™ enhanced expression from the PR-1a promoter and the production of the PR-1 protein. Enhanced activity occurred systemically both from aerial applications to single leaves and from root drenches. Root application strongly promoted veinal expression for the PR-1a promoter compared with confluent production in leaves of sprayed seedlings. Application methods and timing may aid in the success of activators of systemic acquired resistance in field conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker CJ and Mock N (1994) An improved method for monitoring cell death in cell suspension and leaf disc assays using Evans blue. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 39: 7-12
Bi YM, Kenton P, Mur L, Darby R and Draper J (1995) Hydrogen peroxide does not function downstream of salicylic acid in the induction of PR protein expression. The Plant Journal 8: 235-245
Carr JP, Dixon DC, Nikolau BJ, Voelkerding KV and Klessig DF (1987) Synthesis and localization of pathogenesis-related proteins in tobacco. Molecular and Cell Biology 7: 1580-1583
Chamnongpol S, Willekens, H, Langebartels C, Van Montagu M, Inze D and Van Camp W (1996) Transgenic tobacco with a reduced catalase activity develops necrotic lesions and induces pathogenesis-related expression under high light. The Plant Journal 10: 491-503
Chamnongpol S, Willekens H, Moeder W, Langebartels C, Sanderman H, Van Montagu M, Inze D and Van Camp W (1998) Defense activation and enhanced pathogen tolerance induced by H2O2 in transgenic tobacco. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 95: 5818-5823
Felton GW, Bi JL, Mathews MC, Murphy JB, Korth K, Wesley SV, Lamb C and Dixon RA (1999) Cross-talk between the signal pathways for pathogen-induced systemic acquired resistance and grazing-induced insect resistance. In: Chadwick DJ and Goode JA (eds) Insect-plant Interactions and induced plant defense (pp 166-171) Novartis Foundation Syposium 223, Wiley, Chichester
Glazebrook J (2001) Genes controlling expression of defense responses in Arabidopsis-2001 status. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 4: 4301-4308
Gupta V, Willits MG and Glazebrook J (2000) Arabidopsis thaliana EDS4 contributes to salicylic acid (SA)-dependent expression of defense responses: Evidence for inhibition of jasmonic acid signaling by SA. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 13: 503-511
Jefferson RA (1987) Assaying chimeric genes in plants: The GUS gene fusion system. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 5: 387-405
Kim YC, Blee KA, Robins J and Anderson AJ (2001) Oxycom™ under field and laboratory conditions increases resistance responses in plants. European Journal of Plant Pathology 107: 129-136
Latunda-Dad A and Lucas JA (2001) The plant defense activator acidbenzolar-s-methyl primes cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] seedlings for rapid induction of resistance. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 58: 199-208
Lawton KA, Potter SL, Ukness S and Ryals J (1994) Acquired resistance signal transduction in Arabidopsis is ethylene independent. The Plant Cell 6: 581-588
Levine A, Tenhaken R, Dixon R and Lamb C (1994) H2O2 from the oxidative burst orchestrates the plant hypersensitive disease resistance response. Cell 79: 583-593
Mori IC, Pintontoan R, Kawanao T and Muto SZ (2001) Involvement of superoxide generation in salicylic acid induced stomatal closure in Vicia faba. Plant Cell Physiology 424: 383-388
Murashige T and Skoog F (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue culture. Physiologia Plantarum 15: 473-497
Neuenschwander U, Vernooij B, Friedrich L, Uknes S, Kessmann H and Ryals J (1995) Is hydrogen peroxide a second messenger of salicylic acid in systemic acquired resistance? The Plant Journal 8: 227-245
Orozco-Cardenas M, Narvaez-Vasquez J and Ryan C (2001) Hydrogen peroxide acts as a second messenger for the induction of defense genes in tomato plants in response to wounding, systemin and methyl jasmonate. The Plant Cell 13: 179-191
Ryals J, Lawton KA, Delaney TP, Friedrich L, Kessmann H, Neuenschwander U, Uknes S, Vernooij B and Weymann K (1995) Signal transduction in systemic acquired resistance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 92: 4202-4205
Ryals J, Neuenschwander U, Willits MG, Molina A, Steiner H-Y and Hunt MD (1996) Systemic acquired resistance. The Plant Cell 10: 1809-1819
Sasaki Y, Asamizu E, Shibata D, NakamuraY, Kaneko T, Awai K, Amagai M, Kuwata C, Tsugane T, Masuda T, Shimada H, Takamiya K, Ihta H and Tabata S (2001) Monitoring of methyl jasmonate responsive genes in Arabidopsis by cDNA microarray: Self-activation of jasmonate acid biosynthesis and cross-talk with other phytohormone signaling pathways. DNA Research 8: 153-161
Shirasu K, Nakajima H, Krishnamachari VK, Dixon RA and Lamb C (1997) Salicylic acid potentiates an agonist-dependent gain control that amplifies pathogen signals in the activation of defense mechanisms. The Plant Cell 9: 261-270
Ton J, Van Pelt JA, Van Loon LC and Pieterse CM (2002) Differential effectiveness of salicylate dependent and jasmonate/ethylene induced resistance in Arabidopsis. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 15: 27-34
Van Wees SCM, de Swart EAM, van Pelt JA, van Loon LC and Pieterse CMJ (2000) Enhancement of induced disease resistance by simultaneous activation of salicylate-and jasmonate-dependent defense pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 97: 8711-8716
Yang KY, Blee KA, Zhang S and Anderson AJ (2002) Oxycom™ treatment suppresses Pseudomonas syringae infection and activates a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in tobacco. Physiological Molecular Plant Pathology 61: 249-256
Zhang S and Klessig DF (1997) Salicylic acid activates a 48-kD MAP kinase in tobacco. The Plant Cell 9: 809-824
Zimmerli L, Jakab G, Metraux JP and Mauch-Mani B (2000) Potentiation of pathogen-specific defense mechanisms in Arabidopsis by beta-aminobutyric acid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 97: 12920-12925
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blee, K.A., Yang, KY. & Anderson, A.J. Activation of Defense Pathways: Synergism between Reactive Oxygen Species and Salicylic Acid and Consideration of Field Applicability. European Journal of Plant Pathology 110, 203–212 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJPP.0000015379.53872.e9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJPP.0000015379.53872.e9