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Chlorophyll fluorescence for quantification of fungal foliar infection and assessment of the effectiveness of an induced systemic resistance activator

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Abstract

Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging was used to follow infections of Nicotiana benthamiana with the hemibiotrophic fungus, Colletotrichum orbiculare. Based on Fv/Fm images, infected leaves were divided into: healthy tissue with values similar to non-inoculated leaves; water-soaked/necrotic tissue with values near zero; and non-necrotic disease-affected tissue with intermediate values, which preceded or surrounded water-soaked/necrotic tissue. Quantification of Fv/Fm images showed that there were no changes until late in the biotrophic phase when spots of intermediate Fv/Fm appeared in visibly normal tissue. Those became water-soaked approx. 24 h later and then turned necrotic. Later in the necrotrophic phase, there was a rapid increase in affected and necrotic tissue followed by a slower increase as necrotic areas merged. Treatment with the induced systemic resistance activator, 2R, 3R-butanediol, delayed affected and necrotic tissue development by approx. 24 h. Also, the halo of affected tissue was narrower indicating that plant cells retained a higher photosystem II efficiency longer prior to death. While chlorophyll fluorescence imaging can reveal much about the physiology of infected plants, this study demonstrates that it is also a practical tool for quantifying hemibiotrophic fungal infections, including affected tissue that is appears normal visually but is damaged by infection.

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  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    J. Tung, P. H. Goodwin & T. Hsiang

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  1. J. Tung
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  2. P. H. Goodwin
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  3. T. Hsiang
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Correspondence to P. H. Goodwin.

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Tung, J., Goodwin, P.H. & Hsiang, T. Chlorophyll fluorescence for quantification of fungal foliar infection and assessment of the effectiveness of an induced systemic resistance activator. Eur J Plant Pathol 136, 301–315 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-012-0164-5

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