Abstract
Plasmopara viticola is one of the most important pathogens infecting Vitis vinifera plants. The interactions among P. viticola and both susceptible and resistant grapevine plants have been extensively characterised, at transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic levels. However, the involvement of plants ionome in the response against the pathogen has been completely neglected so far. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the possible role of leaf ionomic modulation during compatible and incompatible interactions between P. viticola and grapevine plants. In susceptible cultivars, a dramatic redistribution of mineral elements has been observed, thus uncovering a possible role for mineral nutrients in the response against pathogens. On the contrary, the resistant cultivars did not present substantial rearrangement of mineral elements at leaf level, except for manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). This might demonstrate that, resistant cultivars, albeit expressing the resistance gene, still exploit a pathogen response mechanism based on the local increase in the concentration of microelements, which are involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites and reactive oxygen species. Moreover, these data also highlight the link between the mineral nutrition and plants’ response to pathogens, further stressing that appropriate fertilization strategies can be fundamental for the expression of response mechanisms against pathogens.
Highlights
Plasmopara viticola is one of the most important pathogens infecting Vitis vinifera plants
Transcriptional modulations were detected in micro-dissected stomata and surroundings cells, suggesting that grapevine plants can react to the pathogen by eliciting both a site-specific response and a short distance signal(s) from the stomata to neighbouring c ells[27]
Six days after P. viticola inoculation, leaves of grapevine plants belonging to susceptible cultivars (Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon) presented the typical symptoms of downy mildew, whilst resistant cultivars (Sauvignon Kretos and Cabernet Volos) did not
Summary
Plasmopara viticola is one of the most important pathogens infecting Vitis vinifera plants. The resistant cultivars did not present substantial rearrangement of mineral elements at leaf level, except for manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) This might demonstrate that, resistant cultivars, albeit expressing the resistance gene, still exploit a pathogen response mechanism based on the local increase in the concentration of microelements, which are involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites and reactive oxygen species. Recent studies have highlighted that the ionome profile of plants might represent an important factor determining the success of the infection process by a pathogenic o rganism[52,53] Mineral elements, both macroand microelements, play a fundamental role in plants, being essential for the life cycles completion. To elucidate the mechanisms controlling the mineral element allocation and re-distribution upon P. viticola infection, the expression of selected genes, encoding mineral element transporters, was assessed in leaf tissues
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