The Effect of Green Tea Catechins on Solarum lycopersicum Infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Abstract

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil-borne pathogen that causes crown-gall disease and growth stunting. Current preventative treatments are not feasible for organic or GMO-free farms. A potential natural alternative to such control methods is the use of green tea (containing epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). In this study, the effect of green tea catechins on tumor progression in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato plants) infected with A. tumfaciens was investigated. It was hypothesized that plants treated with green tea catechins would have fewer signs of oxidative stress, and smaller tumors. Tomato plants, grown from seed were watered with green tea or tap water for 9 weeks before inoculation. The control groups included: 1) plants watered with 100ml of water and inoculated with A. tumefaciens; 2) plants watered with 100ml water only; 3) plants watered with 100ml of green tea with an EGCG content of 119 mg. The experimental group included plants watered with green tea and inoculated with A. tumefaciens. After 14 weeks, a leaf Spectrometer was used to measure signs of oxidative stress and tumor size was measured. The p-value from Anthocyanin Reflectance (0.038) and Chlorophyll Content (0.020) showed a significant relationship between treatments and the interaction of treatment and infection cohorts respectively. There was no observed significance between tumor size (p= 0.13). However, these significant relationships suggest that pre-treatment with Green Tea Catechins (EGCG) is an effective Non-GMO option for preventing profit loss from A.tumefaciens infection. EGCG can also be considered a compound of interest for further research in human cancer treatment.