Abstract
The effect of β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) on Rhizopus rot produced by Rhizopus stolonifer in harvested peaches and the possible action modes were investigated. Treatment with 50 mmol L−1 of BABA resulted in significantly lower lesion diameter and disease incidence compared with the control. The activities of defense-related enzymes chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase were notably enhanced by this treatment. Meanwhile, BABA treatment also increased lignin accumulation and maintained higher energy status in peaches by enhancing activities of enzymes in the phenylpropanoid and energy metabolism pathways. Semiquantitative reverse transcription PCR results indicated that the transcription of four defense-related genes was substantially and rapidly enhanced only in that BABA-treated fruit upon inoculation with the pathogen. Thus, our results demonstrated that BABA was effective on controlling Rhizopus rot by inducing disease resistance, which includes the increase in gene transcription and activity of defense-related enzymes, the enhancement of cell wall strength, and the maintenance of high energy status in Prunus persica fruit. Moreover, the disease resistance induced by BABA was demonstrated through priming model rather than direct induction.
Highlights
Peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] suffer a short shelf life at room temperature after harvest, due to their rapid ripening and high susceptibility to pathogens, including Rhizopus stolonifer Ehrenb.: Fr., Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea Pers.: Er., and Penicillium expansum Link (Usall et al, 2015)
Our study found that BABA treatment markedly reduced the development of Rhizopus rot in peaches during storage at 20◦C, which suggested that disease resistance in peaches was enhanced by BABA
We showed that BABA treatment maintained higher activities of Ca2+ATPase, H+-ATPase, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and Cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) and thereby a higher energy status was observed in treated peaches compared to control fruit which plays a crucial role in inducing disease resistance
Summary
Peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] suffer a short shelf life at room temperature after harvest, due to their rapid ripening and high susceptibility to pathogens, including Rhizopus stolonifer Ehrenb.: Fr., Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea Pers.: Er., and Penicillium expansum Link (Usall et al, 2015). Among these diseases, it is reported that Rhizopus rot caused by R. stolonifer is the most destructive disease in post-harvest stone fruit including peaches in China (Fan and Tian, 2000). Maintaining a high-energy status is essential in disease resistance
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