Abstract
Several attempts have been made to study the effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on plants in the past years. However, the comparative effects of the number and phenological time of MeJA applications on the activation of defense systems is currently unknown in strawberries. In the present research, we performed three field treatments during strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa ‘Camarosa’) fruit development and ripening which consisted of differential MeJA applications at flowering (M3), and the large green (M2 and M3) and red ripe (M1, M2, and M3) fruit stages. We also checked changes in gene expression related to plant defense against Botrytis cinerea inoculation post-harvest. In M3 treatment, we observed an upregulation of the anthocyanin and lignin contents and the defense-related genes, encoding for chitinases, β-1,3-glucanases and polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins, after harvest (0 hpi), along with the jasmonate signaling-related genes FaMYC2 and FaJAZ1 at 48 h after B. cinerea inoculation (48 hpi) during postharvest storage. Although we did not find differences in gray mold incidence between the MeJA treatments and control, these results suggest that preharvest MeJA treatment from the flowering stage onwards (M3) primes defense responses mediated by the upregulation of different defense-related genes and retains the upregulation of MYC2 and JAZ1 at 48 hpi.
Highlights
Crop plants constantly suffer from stress caused by abiotic and biotic factors, with infectious fungi being the most harmful biotic factors affecting crops [1]
With the aim to contrast the response time of the methyl jasmonate (MeJA) applications during strawberry development, we performed from one to three applications at different developmental stages of strawberries grown in field conditions
Despite the fact no differences were found in incidence levels of +Bc fruits, the results suggest that preharvest MeJA applications in strawberry decrease the infection progression of B. cinerea at postharvest depending on the developmental stage when they are applied, with M3 being the treatment which presented null gray mold incidence during the postharvest storage of −Bc fruits, suggesting that MeJA
Summary
Crop plants constantly suffer from stress caused by abiotic and biotic factors, with infectious fungi being the most harmful biotic factors affecting crops [1]. During postharvest storage, this fruit has a high susceptibility to being infected by necrotrophic fungi [4]. Gray mold disease, caused by the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea, is one of the most important postharvest diseases, affecting more than 200 plant species [5]. Consumer pressure has increased in favor of the reduced use of agrochemicals. In this sense, there is a scientific interest in studying natural compounds that could provide an alternative to chemical pesticides as has been reported for the containment of B. cinerea-associated infections [7]. Different studies have shown the beneficial effects of exogenous MeJA applications in fruits, such as the resulting higher levels of phenolic compounds, especially lignin and anthocyanins [13,15,16,17]
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