biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 55:423-430, 2011 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-011-0106-7

Effects of NaCl on the response of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum callus to Botrytis cinerea infection

E. Kuźniak^1,*, B. Gabara², M. Skłodowska¹, M. Libik-Konieczny³, Z. Miszalski^3,4

¹ Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland

² Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland

³ Institute of Plant Physiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland

⁴ Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University, Kraków, Poland

Callus of the halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was used to study the effect of NaCl on the response to Botrytis cinerea infection. The fungus easily colonized the callus surface and the intercellular spaces. However, in the NaCl-adapted tissues the incidence of penetration was 67 % lower than in the inoculated control tissue. The modification of the infection pattern found in the salt-adapted callus could be related to metabolic adaptations to salinity. This was manifested by the enhanced antioxidant potential of ascorbate, the up-regulated activities of ascorbate peroxidase, as well as guaiacol and syringaldazine peroxidases together with the increased detoxification capacity of glutathione transferase in the NaCl-adapted callus. The post-inoculation changes in NaCl-adapted and non-adapted calli were roughly similar and supported the prooxidative nature of B. cinerea infection.

Keywords: ascorbate; ascorbate peroxidase; glutathione; lipid peroxidation; plant-pathogen interaction; salinity

Received: April 1, 2010; Accepted: May 11, 2010; Published: September 1, 2011Show citation