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Silva CJ, Adaskaveg JA, Mesquida-Pesci SD, Ortega-Salazar IB, Pattathil S, Zhang L, Hahn MG, van Kan JAL, Cantu D, Powell ALT, Blanco-Ulate B. Botrytis cinerea infection accelerates ripening and cell wall disassembly to promote disease in tomato fruit. Plant Physiol 2023; 191:575-590. [PMID: 36053186 PMCID: PMC9806607 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Postharvest fungal pathogens benefit from the increased host susceptibility that occurs during fruit ripening. In unripe fruit, pathogens often remain quiescent and unable to cause disease until ripening begins, emerging at this point into destructive necrotrophic lifestyles that quickly result in fruit decay. Here, we demonstrate that one such pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, actively induces ripening processes to facilitate infections and promote disease in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Assessments of ripening progression revealed that B. cinerea accelerated external coloration, ethylene production, and softening in unripe fruit, while mRNA sequencing of inoculated unripe fruit confirmed the corresponding upregulation of host genes involved in ripening processes, such as ethylene biosynthesis and cell wall degradation. Furthermore, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based glycomics technique used to assess fruit cell wall polysaccharides revealed remarkable similarities in the cell wall polysaccharide changes caused by both infections of unripe fruit and ripening of healthy fruit, particularly in the increased accessibility of pectic polysaccharides. Virulence and additional ripening assessment experiments with B. cinerea knockout mutants showed that induction of ripening depends on the ability to infect the host and break down pectin. The B. cinerea double knockout Δbc polygalacturonase1 Δbc polygalacturonase2 lacking two critical pectin degrading enzymes was incapable of emerging from quiescence even long after the fruit had ripened at its own pace, suggesting that the failure to accelerate ripening severely inhibits fungal survival on unripe fruit. These findings demonstrate that active induction of ripening in unripe tomato fruit is an important infection strategy for B. cinerea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian J Silva
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Jaclyn A Adaskaveg
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | | | | | - Sivakumar Pattathil
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Mascoma LLC (Lallemand, Inc.), Lebanon, New Hampshire 03766, USA
| | - Lisha Zhang
- Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Center of Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael G Hahn
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Jan A L van Kan
- Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Dario Cantu
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Ann L T Powell
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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