Potential of salicylic acid activity derived from stress-induced (water) Tomato against Meloidogyne incognita

Abstract

Plants have evolved several types of sophisticated defence mechanisms to protect themselves from enemies in which the signalling molecules such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET) often play crucial roles. An experiment was conducted to investigate the water induced stress in young tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Pusa Ruby) during water deprivation and after relief from stress in association with salicylic acid. Application of SA or certain analogues such as aspirin induces expression of pathogenesis-related proteins (PR) in plants which serve as molecular markers for the systemic acquired response (SAR). In plants, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide radical (O₂), hydroxyl radical (OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), is also common in metabolic and physiological processes. Similar to the defence-regulating compounds such as SA and JA, plant-derived ET is also known to be involved in disease resistance. The role of ROS or ET could be investigated which was carried out in the present study to know the osmotic stress mediated resistance by SA against Meloidogyne incognita in tomato plants.

Keywords:

• defence mechanisms
• hypersensitive response
• induced systemic resistance
• reactive oxygen species
• root-knot nematode
• systemic acquired response

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the support received from Dr. R.R.N. Bajpai, Principal, Bankura Christian College. I am also thankful to Mr. Aninda Sen, Assistant Professor of English, Bankura Christian College, Bankura for his kind help in improving the English of my manuscript.