Biochemical Changes in Orange Fruit Due to Plant – <i>Penicillium italicum</i> – Antagonism Interactions

Abstract

One of the most important orange fruit diseases is blue mold which cause by Penicillium italicum that is responsible for important economic losses. This study investigated biochemical changes in exo-mesocarp layers of orange fruits related to host - pathogen - yeast interactions. Initial result showed that among eight strains isolated, the most effective antagonist were belonged to two species of Pichia kluyveri (M45) and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (M61). These isolates were selected for biochemical evaluation. In order to assessment of biochemical changes, the orange fruits were inoculated with 40 µl of yeast cell suspension and after 24 h, the wounds were inoculated with 20 µl of conidial suspension of P. italicum. The analysis of variance showed that all of the measured biochemical characterises were significant in both layers by treatments (yeast isolates; pathogen; yeast isolates + pathogen and control) (P ≤ 0.01), including POD, CAT and β-1, 3-glucanase activities and total phenolic compounds. Also result showed that when the yeast isolates (M45 or M54) were inoculated into wounds with the pathogen, it stimulated the orange to increase produce of total phenol and enzymes activity (POD, CAT and β-1, 3-glucanase) and these changes were related to incubation time. The result showed that understanding biochemical mechanism derived from plant-pathogen-antagonist interactions is essential for investigating the dynamics of infectious processes.