Fontanilla M, Montes M, De Prado R
Departamento de Química Agrícola y Edafología, Universidad de Córdoba, España.
Commun Agric Appl Biol Sci. 2005;70(3):41-5.
The active ingredient in Messenger, is Harpin(Ea), a naturally occurring protein derived from Erwinia amylovora, a causal agent of fire blight. When Messenger is applied to a plant, the protein Harpin(Ea) binds foliar receptors to it. The receptors recognize the presence of Harpin(Ea), sending a signal that a pathogen is present, actually "tricking" the plant into thinking that it is under attack. This binding process triggers a cascade of responses affecting a global change of gene expressions, stimulating several distinct biochemical pathways within the plant responsible for growth and disease and insect resistance. The objective of this work is to characterize the development of an induced resistance against Phytophthora infestans. No effective treatment is currently available against this pathogenic agent, which causes the loss of complete harvests of different crops. Tomato plants with and without Messenger applications were inoculated with Phytophthora infestans in the same way. In addition, some plants with and without Messenger applications were not inoculated. Inoculated plants were symptomatologically checked for local and systemic symptoms. Evaluations of the number of tomatoes produced, with or without damage, and their growth, were also carried out. Based on the data obtained from the assays, significant changes were observed in the parameters measured due to Messenger treatment. The severe damage of this disease was reduced in the plants which received Messenger applications. These results open up new pathways in the control of diseases like Phytophthora infestans, in which effective means to combat them still do not exist, or these means are harmful to the environment.
“信使”中的活性成分是harpin（Ea），一种从苹果火疫病菌（一种引起火疫病的病原体）中提取的天然蛋白质。当“信使”施用于植物时，harpin（Ea）蛋白会与叶片受体结合。这些受体识别harpin（Ea）的存在，发出病原体存在的信号，实际上是“欺骗”植物使其认为自己受到攻击。这种结合过程会引发一系列反应，影响基因表达的全局变化，刺激植物体内负责生长、抗病和抗虫的几种不同生化途径。这项工作的目的是表征对致病疫霉诱导抗性的发展情况。目前尚无针对这种病原体的有效治疗方法，它会导致不同作物的收成完全损失。对使用和未使用“信使”的番茄植株以相同方式接种致病疫霉。此外，对一些使用和未使用“信使”的植株不进行接种。对接种的植株进行局部和全身症状的症状学检查。还对有或没有损伤的番茄产量及其生长情况进行了评估。根据试验获得的数据，由于“信使”处理，所测参数出现了显著变化。在使用“信使”处理的植株中，这种病害的严重损害有所减轻。这些结果为控制致病疫霉等病害开辟了新途径，对于这些病害，目前仍不存在有效的防治方法，或者这些方法对环境有害。
