Glucosinolates are a diverse class of S- and N-containing secondary metabolites that play a variety of roles in plant defense. In this study, we used Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that contain different amounts of glucosinolates and glucosinolate-breakdown products to study the effects of these phytochemicals on phytopathogenic fungi. We compared the fungus Botrytis cinerea, which infects a variety of hosts, with the Brassicaceae-specific fungus Alternaria brassicicola. B. cinerea isolates showed variable composition-dependent sensitivity to glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, while A. brassicicola was more strongly affected by aliphatic glucosinolates and isothiocyanates as decomposition products. We also found that B. cinerea stimulates the accumulation of glucosinolates to a greater extent than A. brassicicola. In our work with A. brassicicola, we found that the type of glucosinolate-breakdown product is more important than the type of glucosinolate from which that product was derived, as demonstrated by the sensitivity of the Ler background and the sensitivity gained in Col-0 plants expressing epithiospecifier protein both of which accumulate simple nitrile and epithionitriles, but not isothiocyanates. Furthermore, in vivo, hydrolysis products of indole glucosinolates were found to be involved in defense against B. cinerea, but not in the host response to A. brassicicola. We suggest that the Brassicaceae-specialist A. brassicicola has adapted to the presence of indolic glucosinolates and can cope with their hydrolysis products. In contrast, some isolates of the generalist B. cinerea are more sensitive to these phytochemicals.

Glucosinolates accumulate mainly in cruciferous plants and their hydrolysis-derived products play important roles in plant resistance against pathogens. The pathogen Botrytis cinerea has variable sensitivity to glucosinolates, but the mechanisms by which it responds to them are mostly unknown. Exposure of B. cinerea to glucosinolate-breakdown products induces expression of the Major Facilitator Superfamily transporter, mfsG, which functions in fungitoxic compound efflux. Inoculation of B. cinerea on wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana plants induces mfsG expression to higher levels than on glucosinolate-deficient A. thaliana mutants. A B. cinerea strain lacking functional mfsG transporter is deficient in efflux ability. It accumulates more isothiocyanates (ITCs) and is therefore more sensitive to this compound in vitro; it is also less virulent to glucosinolates-containing plants. Moreover, mfsG mediates ITC efflux in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, thereby conferring tolerance to ITCs in the yeast. These findings suggest that mfsG transporter is a virulence factor that increases tolerance to glucosinolates.

Epiphytic yeasts, which colonize plant surfaces, may possess activity that can be harnessed to help plants defend themselves against various pathogens. Due to their unique characteristics, epiphytic yeasts belonging to the genus Pseudozyma hold great potential for use as biocontrol agents. We identified a unique, biologically active isolate of the epiphytic yeast Pseudozyma aphidis that is capable of inhibiting Botrytis cinerea via a dual mode of action, namely induced resistance and antibiosis. Here, we show that strain L12 of P. aphidis can reduce the severity of powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera xanthii on cucumber plants with an efficacy of 75%. Confocal and scanning electron microscopy analyses demonstrated P. aphidis proliferation on infected tissue and its production of long hyphae that parasitize the powdery mildew hyphae and spores as an ectoparasite. We also show that crude extract of P. aphidis metabolites can inhibit P. xanthii spore germination in planta. Our results suggest that in addition to its antibiosis mode of action, P. aphidis may also act as an ectoparasite on P. xanthii. These results indicate that P. aphidis strain L12 has the potential to control powdery mildew.

Pseudozyma spp. are yeast-like fungi, classified in the Ustilaginales, which are mostly epiphytic or saprophytic and are not pathogenic to plants. Several Pseudozyma species have been reported to exhibit biological activity against powdery mildews. However, previous studies have reported that Pseudozyma aphidis, which can colonize plant surfaces, is not associated with the ‎‎collapse of powdery ‎mildew colonies. In this report, we describe a novel P. aphidis strain and study its interactions with its plant host and the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea. This isolate was found to secrete extracellular metabolites that inhibit various fungal pathogens in vitro and significantly reduce B. cinerea infection in vivo. Moreover, P. aphidis sensitized Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants’ defense machinery via local and systemic induction of PATHOGENESIS-RELATED1 (PR1) and PLANT DEFENSIN1.2 (PDF1.2) expression. P. aphidis also reduced B. cinerea infection, locally and systemically, in Arabidopsis mutants impaired in jasmonic acid (JA) or salicylic acid (SA) signaling. Thus, in addition to direct inhibition, P. aphidis may inhibit B. cinerea infection via induced resistance in a manner independent of SA, JA, and Nonexpressor of PR1 (NPR1). P. aphidis primed the plant defense machinery and induced stronger activation of PDF1.2 after B. cinerea infection. Finally, P. aphidis fully or partially reconstituted PR1 and PDF1.2 expression in npr1-1 mutant and in plants with the SA hydroxylase NahG transgene, but not in a jasmonate resistant1-1 mutant, after B. cinerea infection, suggesting that P. aphidis can bypass the SA/NPR1, but not JA, pathway to activate PR genes. Thus, either partial gene activation is sufficient to induce resistance, or the resistance is not directed solely through PR1 and PDF1.2 but probably through other pathogen-resistance genes or pathways as well.

The plant cell cuticle serves as the first barrier protecting plants from mechanical injury and invading pathogens. The cuticle can be breached by cutinase-producing pathogens and the degradation products may activate pathogenesis signals in the invading pathogens. Cuticle degradation products may also trigger the plant’s defense responses. Botrytis cinerea is an important plant pathogen, capable of attacking and causing disease in a wide range of plant species. Arabidopsis thaliana shn1-1D is a gain-of-function mutant, which has a modified cuticular lipid composition. We used this mutant to examine the effect of altering the whole-cuticle metabolic pathway on plant responses to B. cinerea attack. Following infection with B. cinerea, the shn1-1D mutant discolored more quickly, accumulated more H₂O₂, and showed accelerated cell death relative to wild-type (WT) plants. Whole transcriptome analysis of B. cinerea-inoculated shn1-1D vs. WT plants revealed marked upregulation of genes associated with senescence, oxidative stress and defense responses on the one hand, and genes involved in the magnitude of defense-response control on the other. We propose that altered cutin monomer content and composition of shn1-1D plants triggers excessive reactive oxygen species accumulation and release which leads to a strong, unique and uncontrollable defense response, resulting in plant sensitivity and death.