Priming Effect of Thiamine on the Enhancement of Induced Resistance to the Plant Disease Phytophthora Nicotianae in Tobacco

Induced resistance by elicitors is considered to be an eco-friendly strategy to stimulate plant defense against pathogen attack. Thiamine (vitamin B1,VB1) can act as a plant defence trigger, or priming agent, leading to a rapid counterattack on pathogen invasion.To date, the mechanisms by which VB1 provides protection against plant disease have yet to be fully elucidated, expecially no reports about VB1 treatment influenced the development of Phytophthora nicotianae in plant. Tobacco black shank (TBS) caused by P. nicotianae is destructive to almost all tobacco cultivars and is widespread in many tobacco-growing countries. In the present study, the priming effect of VB1 on tobacco against the disease P. nicotianae and its biochemical and molecular impact on plant defense mechanisms were evaluated. Base on the effect of VB1 on mycelial growth and zoospore formation, the appropriate VB1 treatment was used in protecting tobacco against P. nicotianae. For VB1 pretreatment, tobacco exhibited a significant reduction in disease severity. Consistent with the occurrence of induced resistance, the pronounced increase in H2O2 level, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and peroxidase (POD) activities were observed. For defense reactions, VB1 promoted the increases of H2O2, SA and lignin contents. Moreover, the expressions of PR1, PR5, NPR1, PAL, CM1, H1N1 and EFE26 were induced by VB1, which also involved in defense reactions. Our findings indicate that the priming effect of VB1 may partially depend on the production of the callose deposition, H2O2 accumulation, and hormone SA production.

Regulation of the development of defense reactions on the part of plants with the participation of rhizobia signaling molecules as the basis for the development of legume-rhizobial symbiosis

The role of the LysM-containing receptor-like kinase K1 of pea in the development of protective reactions and vesicular transport during the symbiosis development with rhizobial bacteria is shown.

Localization of (+)-Catechin in Picea abies Phloem: Responses to Wounding and Fungal Inoculation

To understand the positional and temporal defense mechanisms of coniferous tree bark at the tissue and cellular levels, the phloem topochemistry and structural properties were examined after artificially induced bark defense reactions. Wounding and fungal inoculation with Endoconidiophora polonica of spruce bark were carried out, and phloem tissues were frequently collected to follow the temporal and spatial progress of chemical and structural responses. The changes in (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, stilbene glucoside, and resin acid distribution, and accumulation patterns within the phloem, were mapped using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (cryo-ToF-SIMS), alongside detailed structural (LM, TEM, SEM) and quantitative chemical microanalyses of the tissues. Our results show that axial phloem parenchyma cells of Norway spruce contain (+)-catechins, the amount of which locally increases in response to fungal inoculation. The preformed, constitutive distribution and accumulation patterns of (+)-catechins closely follow those of stilbene glucosides. Phloem phenolics are not translocated but form a layered defense barrier with oleoresin compounds in response to pathogen attack. Our results suggest that axial phloem parenchyma cells are the primary location for (+)-catechin storage and synthesis in Norway spruce phloem. Chemical mapping of bark defensive metabolites by cryo-ToF-SIMS, in addition to structural and chemical microanalyses of the defense reactions, can provide novel information on the local amplitudes and localizations of chemical and structural defense mechanisms and pathogen–host interactions of trees.

Histological and ultrastructural nodule organization of the pea (Pisum sativum) mutant sgefix–-5 in the Sym33 gene encoding the transcription factor PsCYCLOPS/PsIPD3

Background. The transcription factor CYCLOPS/IPD3 is a key activator of the organogenesis of symbiotic nodules. Its participation in the development of infection threads and symbiosomes is also shown. In pea, three mutant alleles were identified for this gene (sym33-1 sym33-3). The phenotypic manifestations of the sym33-3 allele of the SGEFix-2 mutant, characterized by a leaky phenotype (the formation of two types of nodules: white and pinkish) were the most studied. The sym33-2 allele in the mutant SGEFix-5 was described as a strong allele, however, its phenotypic manifestations have not been studied in detail. Materials and methods. In this study, the histological and ultrastructural nodule organization of the SGEFix-5 mutant was analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Results. In the nodules locked infection threads were observed, from which no bacteria release into the cytoplasm of the plant cell occurs. In this case, in some infection threads, bacteria were degraded, which may indicate the activation of strong defense reactions in the nodules of the SGEFix-5 mutant. Conclusions. The sym33-2 allele in the mutant SGEFix-5 is a strong allele, which triggers the severe defense reactions, when rhizobia are already perceived as pathogens in infection threads.

Legume Nodules: Massive Infection in the Absence of Defense Induction

Plants of the legume family host massive intracellular bacterial populations in the tissues of specialized organs, the nodules. In these organs, the bacteria, named rhizobia, can fix atmospheric nitrogen and transfer it to the plant. This special metabolic skill provides to the legumes an advantage when they grow on nitrogen-scarce substrates. While packed with rhizobia, the nodule cells remain alive, metabolically active, and do not develop defense reactions. Here, we review our knowledge on the control of plant immunity during the rhizobia-legume symbiosis. We present the results of an evolutionary process that selected both divergence of microbial-associated molecular motifs and active suppressors of immunity on the rhizobial side and, on the legume side, active mechanisms that contribute to suppression of immunity.

‘Slipped Sandwich’ Model for Chitin and Chitosan Perception in Arabidopsis

Chitin, a linear polymer of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, and chitosans, fully or partially deacetylated derivatives of chitin, are known to elicit defense reactions in higher plants. We compared the ability of chitin and chitosan oligomers and polymers (chitin oligomers with degree of polymerization [DP] 3 to 8; chitosan oligomers with degree of acetylation [DA] 0 to 35% and DP 3 to 15; chitosan polymers with DA 1 to 60% and DP approximately 1,300) to elicit an oxidative burst indicative of induced defense reactions in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Fully deacetylated chitosans were not able to trigger a response; elicitor activity increased with increasing DA of chitosan polymers. Partially acetylated chitosan oligomers required a minimum DP of 6 and at least four N-acetyl groups to trigger a response. Invariably, elicitation of an oxidative burst required the presence of the chitin receptor AtCERK1. Our results as well as previously published studies on chitin and chitosan perception in plants are best explained by a new general model of LysM-containing receptor complexes in which two partners form a long but off-set chitin-binding groove and are, thus, dimerized by one chitin or chitosan molecule, sharing a central GlcNAc unit with which both LysM domains interact. To verify this model and to distinguish it from earlier models, we assayed elicitor and inhibitor activities of selected partially acetylated chitosan oligomers with fully defined structures. In contrast to the initial ‘continuous groove’, the original ‘sandwich’, or the current ‘sliding mode’ models for the chitin/chitosan receptor, the here-proposed ‘slipped sandwich’ model—which builds on these earlier models and represents a consensus combination of these—is in agreement with all experimental observations.

Hot-Cognitive Defense of Worldviews

Chapter 8 discusses people’s tendencies to defend their views on how the world should look and what exact role affective processes and feelings play in these defensive responses. The chapter delineates that worldview-defense reactions tend to be “hot-cognitive” reactions, consisting of a combination of how situations are interpreted, assessed, and appraised and the feelings associated with these interpretations, assessments, and appraisals. The chapter examines three levels of analysis at which feelings play a role in radicalization: (1) individual defensive responses involve processes of self-esteem perseverance; (2) group responses include the buffering role of culture; and (3) ideological and religious concerns often serve important psychological functions that are of special relevance to radicalizing individuals and radical groups and subcultures.