Abstract
The use of biopolymers as elicitors in controlling plant diseases is gaining momentum world-wide due to their eco-friendly and non-toxic nature. In the present study, we have used an algal biopolymer (sodium alginate) and tested its applicability as an elicitor in inducing resistance factors against Alternaria solani, which causes early blight disease in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato plant). We have pre-treated tomato plants with different concentrations of sodium alginate (0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%) before A. solani infection. We found that sodium alginate has effectively controlled the growth of A. solani. In addition, a significant increase in the expression levels of SOD was observed in response to pathogen infection. The increased protease inhibitors activity further suggest that sodium alginate restrict the development of A. solani infection symptoms in tomato leaves. This corroborates well with the cell death analysis wherein increased sodium alginate pre-treatment results in decreased cell death. Also, the expression profile analyses reveal the induction of genes only in sodium alginate-pretreated tomato leaves, which are implicated in plant defense mechanism. Taken together, our results suggest that sodium alginate can be used as an elicitor to induce resistance against A. solani in tomato plants.
MeSH terms
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Alginates / pharmacology*
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Alternaria / immunology*
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Alternaria / pathogenicity
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Antioxidants / pharmacology
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Cell Death / drug effects
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Chitinases / genetics
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Chitinases / immunology
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Disease Resistance / drug effects*
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Disease Resistance / genetics
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Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / drug effects
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Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / immunology
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Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase / genetics
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Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase / immunology
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Plant Cells / drug effects
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Plant Cells / microbiology
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Plant Diseases / genetics
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Plant Diseases / immunology
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Plant Diseases / microbiology
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Plant Diseases / prevention & control*
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Plant Growth Regulators / pharmacology*
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Plant Leaves / drug effects
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Plant Leaves / genetics
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Plant Leaves / immunology
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Plant Leaves / microbiology
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Plant Proteins / genetics*
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Plant Proteins / immunology
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Protease Inhibitors / immunology
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Protease Inhibitors / metabolism
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Solanum lycopersicum / drug effects*
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Solanum lycopersicum / genetics
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Solanum lycopersicum / immunology
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Solanum lycopersicum / microbiology
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Superoxide Dismutase / genetics
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Superoxide Dismutase / immunology
Substances
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Alginates
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Antioxidants
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Plant Growth Regulators
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Plant Proteins
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Protease Inhibitors
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Superoxide Dismutase
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Chitinases
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Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase
Grants and funding
Acme Progen Biotech (India) Pvt. Ltd has provided support in the form of RT-PCR study design, data collection and analysis.