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Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is susceptible to many diseases including bacterial speck caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Bacterial speck disease is a serious problem worldwide in tomato production areas where moist conditions and cool temperatures occur. To enhance breeding of speck resistant fresh-market tomato cultivars we identified a race 0 field isolate, NC-C3, of P. s. pv. tomato in North Carolina and used it to screen a collection of heirloom tomato lines for speck resistance in the field. We observed statistically significant variation among the heirloom tomatoes for their response to P. s. pv. tomato NC-C3 with two lines showing resistance approaching a cultivar that expresses the Pto resistance gene, although none of the heirloom lines have Pto. Using an assay that measures microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated whether the heirloom lines showed differential responsiveness to three bacterial-derived peptide MAMPs: flg22 and flgII-28 (from flagellin) and csp22 (from cold shock protein). Significant differences were observed for MAMP responsiveness among the lines, although these differences did not correlate strongly with resistance or susceptibility to bacterial speck disease. The identification of natural variation for MAMP responsiveness opens up the possibility of using a genetic approach to identify the underlying loci and to facilitate breeding of cultivars with enhanced disease resistance. Towards this goal, we discovered that responsiveness to csp22 segregates as a single locus in an F2 population of tomato.

Bacterial speck disease of tomato, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) is one of the most devastating diseases of tomato in the world. To investigate plant responses activated during plant-pathogen interaction, we studied the expression analysis of selected defense-response genes and the microbe or pathogen associated molecular patterns (MAMP or PAMP) triggered immunity (PTI) marker genes in heirloom tomatoes challenged with virulent Pst DC3000. Transcript levels of the defense response genes, including SlPR1a (pathogenesis related proteins), SlPR-Q′b (β-1,3-glucanase), SlGST (Glutathione S-transferase) and peroxidase were up-regulated in the resistant cultivars Orange Strawberry and Amishpaste. The PTI marker genes SlPTI5 (encode a pathogen-inducible ethylene response element-binding protein-like transcription factor) and SlFLS2 (a leucine rich-repeat receptor like kinase) were strongly up-regulated in the incompatible reaction to resistant cultivar Orange Strawberry. On the other hand, transcripts from all tested genes were down-regulated in the compatible interaction in susceptible cultivars Yellow Pear and Brandywine. The induction of defense response and PTI marker genes occurred in the early infection process at 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) and consistent with lower levels of disease severity in resistant cultivars was observed than in susceptible cultivars. Our results contribute to the body of information on bacterial speck disease resistance in an economically important crop tomato.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is susceptible to many diseases including bacterial speck caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Bacterial speck disease is a serious problem worldwide in tomato production areas where moist conditions and cool temperatures occur. To enhance breeding of speck resistant fresh-market tomato cultivars we identified a race 0 field isolate, NC-C3, of P. s. pv. tomato in North Carolina and used it to screen a collection of heirloom tomato lines for speck resistance in the field. We observed statistically significant variation among the heirloom tomatoes for their response to P. s. pv. tomato NC-C3 with two lines showing resistance approaching a cultivar that expresses the Pto resistance gene, although none of the heirloom lines have Pto. Using an assay that measures microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated whether the heirloom lines showed differential responsiveness to three bacterial-derived peptide MAMPs: flg22 and flgII-28 (from flagellin) and csp22 (from cold shock protein). Significant differences were observed for MAMP responsiveness among the lines, although these differences did not correlate strongly with resistance or susceptibility to bacterial speck disease. The identification of natural variation for MAMP responsiveness opens up the possibility of using a genetic approach to identify the underlying loci and to facilitate breeding of cultivars with enhanced disease resistance. Towards this goal, we discovered that responsiveness to csp22 segregates as a single locus in an F2 population of tomato.

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