Molisso Donata, Coppola Mariangela, Aprile Anna Maria, Avitabile Concetta, Natale Roberto, Romanelli Alessandra, Chiaiese Pasquale, Rao Rosa
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy.
CNR-IBB, Via Mezzocannone 16, 80134 Naples, Italy.
J Fungi (Basel). 2020 Dec 29;7(1):15. doi: 10.3390/jof7010015.
Plant defense peptides are able to control immune barriers and represent a potential novel resource for crop protection. One of the best-characterized plant peptides is tomato Systemin (Sys) an octadecapeptide synthesized as part of a larger precursor protein. Upon pest attack, Sys interacts with a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase, systemin receptor SYR, activating a complex intracellular signaling pathway that leads to the wound response. Here, we demonstrated, for the first time, that the direct delivery of the peptide to and plants protects from the agent of Grey mould (). The observed disease tolerance is associated with the increase of total soluble phenolic content, the activation of antioxidant enzymes, and the up-regulation of defense-related genes in plants treated with the peptide. Our results suggest that in treated plants, the biotic defense system is triggered by the Sys signaling pathway as a consequence of Sys interaction with a SYR-like receptor recently found in several plant species, including those under investigation. We propose that this biotechnological use of Sys, promoting defense responses against invaders, represents a useful tool to integrate into pest management programs for the development of novel strategies of crop protection.
植物防御肽能够控制免疫屏障，是作物保护的一种潜在新资源。最具特征的植物肽之一是番茄系统素（Sys），它是一种十八肽，作为较大前体蛋白的一部分合成。受到害虫攻击时，Sys与富含亮氨酸重复序列的受体激酶——系统素受体SYR相互作用，激活复杂的细胞内信号通路，引发伤口反应。在此，我们首次证明，将该肽直接施用于番茄和烟草植株可使其免受灰霉病菌的侵害。观察到的抗病性与总可溶性酚类含量的增加、抗氧化酶的激活以及用该肽处理的植株中防御相关基因的上调有关。我们的结果表明，在处理过的植株中，由于Sys与最近在包括所研究植株在内的几种植物物种中发现的类SYR受体相互作用，生物防御系统由Sys信号通路触发。我们提出，这种促进对入侵者防御反应的Sys生物技术应用，是一种可纳入害虫管理计划以开发新型作物保护策略的有用工具。
