Zinc priming enhances Capsicum annuum immunity against infection by Botrytis cinerea– From the whole plant to the molecular level

Micronutrient manipulation can enhance crop resilience against pathogens, but the mechanisms are mostly unknown. We tested whether priming Capsicum annuum plants with zinc (5 μM Zn) or manganese (3 μM Mn) for six weeks increases their immunity against the generalist necrotroph Botrytis cinerea compa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Plant science (Limerick) Vol. 343; p. 112060
Main Authors:	Kuvelja, Anđela, Morina, Filis, Mijovilovich, Ana, Bokhari, Syed Nadeem Hussain, Konik, Peter, Koloniuk, Igor, Küpper, Hendrik
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Ireland Elsevier B.V 01-06-2024
Subjects:	Fungal pathogen Gray mold disease Metabolites Metalloproteins Micronutrients Pepper Plant immunity Fungal pathogen Gray mold disease Micronutrients Metabolites Pepper Plant immunity Metalloproteins
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Summary:	Micronutrient manipulation can enhance crop resilience against pathogens, but the mechanisms are mostly unknown. We tested whether priming Capsicum annuum plants with zinc (5 μM Zn) or manganese (3 μM Mn) for six weeks increases their immunity against the generalist necrotroph Botrytis cinerea compared to deficient (0.1 μM Zn, 0.02 μM Mn) and control conditions (1 μM Zn, 0.6 μM Mn). Zinc priming reduced the pathogen biomass and lesion area and preserved CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance. Zinc mobilization at the infection site, visualized by micro-X-ray fluorescence, was accompanied by increased Zn protein binding obtained by size exclusion HPLC-ICP/MS. A common metabolic response to fungal infection in Zn- and Mn-primed plants was an accumulation of corchorifatty acid F, a signaling compound, and the antifungal compound acetophenone. In vitro tests showed that the binding of Zn2+ increased, while Mn2+ binding decreased acetophenone toxicity against B. cinerea at concentrations far below the toxicity thresholds of both metals in unbound (aquo complex) form. The metal-specific response to fungal infection included the accumulation of phenolics and amino acids (Mn), and the ligand isocitrate (Zn). The results highlight the importance of Zn for pepper immunity through direct involvement in immunity-related proteins and low molecular weight Zn-complexes, while Mn priming was inefficient. [Display omitted] •Zinc priming promotes resistance in Capsicum annuum against Botrytis cinerea.•Zn-binding proteins and low MW Zn ligands accumulate in infected Zn-primed plants.•Zn priming mechanisms include local Zn accumulation at the infection site.•Zn-acetophenone has higher antifungal activity than the ligand or the Mn-complex.•Mn priming was not efficient.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0168-9452 1873-2259
DOI:	10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112060