Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia
Plants are exposed to various stressors, including pathogens, requiring specific environmental conditions to provoke/induce plant disease. This phenomenon is called the “disease triangle” and is directly connected with a particular plant–pathogen interaction. Only a virulent pathogen interacting wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/3757 |
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| author | Tomasz Maciag Edmund Kozieł Katarzyna Otulak-Kozieł Sylwia Jafra Robert Czajkowski |
| author_facet | Tomasz Maciag Edmund Kozieł Katarzyna Otulak-Kozieł Sylwia Jafra Robert Czajkowski |
| author_sort | Tomasz Maciag |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plants are exposed to various stressors, including pathogens, requiring specific environmental conditions to provoke/induce plant disease. This phenomenon is called the “disease triangle” and is directly connected with a particular plant–pathogen interaction. Only a virulent pathogen interacting with a susceptible plant cultivar will lead to disease under specific environmental conditions. This may seem difficult to accomplish, but soft rot <i>Pectobacteriaceae</i> (SRPs) is a group virulent of pathogenic bacteria with a broad host range. Additionally, waterlogging (and, resulting from it, hypoxia), which is becoming a frequent problem in farming, is a favoring condition for this group of pathogens. Waterlogging by itself is an important source of abiotic stress for plants due to lowered gas exchange. Therefore, plants have evolved an ethylene-based system for hypoxia sensing. Plant response is coordinated by hormonal changes which induce metabolic and physiological adjustment to the environmental conditions. Wetland species such as rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.), and bittersweet nightshade (<i>Solanum dulcamara</i> L.) have developed adaptations enabling them to withstand prolonged periods of decreased oxygen availability. On the other hand, potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.), although able to sense and response to hypoxia, is sensitive to this environmental stress. This situation is exploited by SRPs which in response to hypoxia induce the production of virulence factors with the use of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). Potato tubers in turn reduce their defenses to preserve energy to prevent the negative effects of reactive oxygen species and acidification, making them prone to soft rot disease. To reduce the losses caused by the soft rot disease we need sensitive and reliable methods for the detection of the pathogens, to isolate infected plant material. However, due to the high prevalence of SRPs in the environment, we also need to create new potato varieties more resistant to the disease. To reach that goal, we can look to wild potatoes and other <i>Solanum</i> species for mechanisms of resistance to waterlogging. Potato resistance can also be aided by beneficial microorganisms which can induce the plant’s natural defenses to bacterial infections but also waterlogging. However, most of the known plant-beneficial microorganisms suffer from hypoxia and can be outcompeted by plant pathogens. Therefore, it is important to look for microorganisms that can withstand hypoxia or alleviate its effects on the plant, e.g., by improving soil structure. Therefore, this review aims to present crucial elements of potato response to hypoxia and SRP infection and future outlooks for the prevention of soft rot disease considering the influence of environmental conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:43:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c51f0719d1c40bfa9fc541e52b9a73b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:43:14Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c51f0719d1c40bfa9fc541e52b9a73b2024-04-12T13:19:41ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672024-03-01257375710.3390/ijms25073757Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental HypoxiaTomasz Maciag0Edmund Kozieł1Katarzyna Otulak-Kozieł2Sylwia Jafra3Robert Czajkowski4Department of Botany, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska Street 159, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Botany, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska Street 159, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Botany, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska Street 159, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandLaboratory of Plant Microbiology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG, University of Gdansk, Antoniego Abrahama Street 58, 80-307 Gdansk, PolandLaboratory of Biologically Active Compounds, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG, University of Gdansk, Antoniego Abrahama Street 58, 80-307 Gdansk, PolandPlants are exposed to various stressors, including pathogens, requiring specific environmental conditions to provoke/induce plant disease. This phenomenon is called the “disease triangle” and is directly connected with a particular plant–pathogen interaction. Only a virulent pathogen interacting with a susceptible plant cultivar will lead to disease under specific environmental conditions. This may seem difficult to accomplish, but soft rot <i>Pectobacteriaceae</i> (SRPs) is a group virulent of pathogenic bacteria with a broad host range. Additionally, waterlogging (and, resulting from it, hypoxia), which is becoming a frequent problem in farming, is a favoring condition for this group of pathogens. Waterlogging by itself is an important source of abiotic stress for plants due to lowered gas exchange. Therefore, plants have evolved an ethylene-based system for hypoxia sensing. Plant response is coordinated by hormonal changes which induce metabolic and physiological adjustment to the environmental conditions. Wetland species such as rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.), and bittersweet nightshade (<i>Solanum dulcamara</i> L.) have developed adaptations enabling them to withstand prolonged periods of decreased oxygen availability. On the other hand, potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.), although able to sense and response to hypoxia, is sensitive to this environmental stress. This situation is exploited by SRPs which in response to hypoxia induce the production of virulence factors with the use of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). Potato tubers in turn reduce their defenses to preserve energy to prevent the negative effects of reactive oxygen species and acidification, making them prone to soft rot disease. To reduce the losses caused by the soft rot disease we need sensitive and reliable methods for the detection of the pathogens, to isolate infected plant material. However, due to the high prevalence of SRPs in the environment, we also need to create new potato varieties more resistant to the disease. To reach that goal, we can look to wild potatoes and other <i>Solanum</i> species for mechanisms of resistance to waterlogging. Potato resistance can also be aided by beneficial microorganisms which can induce the plant’s natural defenses to bacterial infections but also waterlogging. However, most of the known plant-beneficial microorganisms suffer from hypoxia and can be outcompeted by plant pathogens. Therefore, it is important to look for microorganisms that can withstand hypoxia or alleviate its effects on the plant, e.g., by improving soil structure. Therefore, this review aims to present crucial elements of potato response to hypoxia and SRP infection and future outlooks for the prevention of soft rot disease considering the influence of environmental conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/3757soft rotpotato<i>Dickeya</i><i>Pectobacterium</i><i>Erwinia</i>waterlogging |
| spellingShingle | Tomasz Maciag Edmund Kozieł Katarzyna Otulak-Kozieł Sylwia Jafra Robert Czajkowski Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia International Journal of Molecular Sciences soft rot potato <i>Dickeya</i> <i>Pectobacterium</i> <i>Erwinia</i> waterlogging |
| title | Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia |
| title_full | Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia |
| title_fullStr | Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia |
| title_short | Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia |
| title_sort | looking for resistance to soft rot disease of potatoes facing environmental hypoxia |
| topic | soft rot potato <i>Dickeya</i> <i>Pectobacterium</i> <i>Erwinia</i> waterlogging |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/3757 |
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