Stress Responses to Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) Infection of Resistant and Susceptible Tomato Plants are Different

Abstract

Two genetically close inbred tomato lines, one resistant to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) infection (R), the other susceptible (S), showed completely different stress response upon TYLCV infection. S plants were stunted and do not yield, while R plants remained symptomless and yielded. Comparison of protein profiles and metabolites patterns in TYLCV infected R and S tomatoes revealed a completely different host stress response. S plants were characterized by higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ROS compounds, the anti-oxidative, pathogenesis-related (PR) and wound-induced proteins were predominant. In contrast, infection of R tomatoes did not drastically activate the same host defense mechanisms as in S plants, while R homeostasis was much more effectively maintained by protein and chemical chaperones. Sources of carbon and nitrogen were less affected by TYLCV in R than in S plants, which could make R plants more balanced and more fit to sustain infection. Even though both tomato types contained comparable amounts of TYLCV at the specified stage of infection, the cellular immune responses were different. Presented results are preliminary and indicate not so much concrete data but the global tender in understanding of the cellular response to virus stress at the background of resistance and susceptibility to TYLCV.