Cerebroside elicitor confers resistance to Fusarium disease in various plant species

• Published in: Phytopathology Vol. 94; no. 8; pp. 813 - 818
• Main Authors: Umemura, K, Tanino, S, Nagatsuka, T, Koga, J, Iwata, M, Nagashima, K, Amemiya, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Paul, MN American Phytopathological Society 01-08-2004
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; biological control; biosynthesis; Botrytis; cerebrosides; chemical structure; Cucumis melo; disease control; disease resistance; dose response; elicitors; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungal plant pathogens; Fusarium oxysporum; gene induction; hydrogen peroxide; Ipomoea batatas; Lactuca sativa; lettuce; melons; pathogenicity; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; plant defense activators; Plant diseases; plant extracts; plant pathogenic fungi; Plant species; Pythium; Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum; sweet potatoes; tomatoes; Fungi; Cerebroside; Resistance; Plant pathology; Plant; Microbiology; Plant pathogen; Fusarium; Fungi Imperfecti; Elicitor; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0031-949X; 1943-7684
• DOI: 10.1094/phyto.2004.94.8.813

In the rice blast fungus pathosystem, cerebroside, a compound categorized as a sphingolipid, was found in our previous study to be a non-race-specific elicitor, which elicits defense responses in rice. Here we describe that cerebroside C is produced in diverse strains of Fusarium oxysporum, a common soilborne agent of wilt disease affecting a wide range of plant species. In addition, some type of cerebroside elicitor involving cerebroside A, B, or C was detected in other soilborne phytopathogens, such as Pythium and Botrytis. Treatment of lettuce (Lactuca sativa), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), melon (Cucumis melo), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) with cerebroside B resulted in resistance to infection by each pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum. Induction of pathogenesis-related genes and H(2)O(2) production by treatment with cerebroside B were observed in tomato root tissues. The cerebroside elicitor showed no antifungal activity against F. oxysporum in vitro, indicating that the cerebroside elicitor activates defense mechanisms to confer resistance to Fusarium disease. These results suggest that cerebroside functions as a non-race-specific elicitor in a wide range of plant¡phytopathogenic fungus interactions. Additionally, cerebroside elicitor serves as a potential biologically derived control agent.