Sunflower chlorotic mottle virus in compatible interactions with sunflower: ROS generation and antioxidant response

Abstract

Sunflower chlorotic mottle virus (SuCMoV) is a recently described potyvirus that causes systemic infections in sunflower plants leading to chlorotic mottling and important growth reductions and yield losses. Oxidative damage is expressed after symptom development in this host-pathogen combination. The involvement of antioxidant enzyme activities in disease susceptibility was studied in two sunflower lines differing in the intensity and rate of development of SuCMoV infections: L2 is more susceptible than L33. A transient superoxide production peak was detected in leaves of both lines before symptom development. H2O2 accumulation increased before symptom expression in infected plants of L33 but in L2 such increase was registered only after symptoms became evident. In healthy plants of both lines, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) showed similar activity levels. In inoculated plants of line L2, but not in L33, SOD and CAT activities increased significantly before the appearance of symptoms, and APX increases were detected later. A 1 mM SA treatment effectively decreased SuCMoV accumulation in plants of L2 but it did not affect it in L33. This treatment increased H2O2 accumulation and prevented the increase in antioxidant enzyme activities in infected plants of L2. It is suggested that increases in antioxidant enzyme activities interrupted the signals generated by the increase in ROS, which may have otherwise triggered defence reactions in the host and thus, resulted in a compatible interaction.