Trehalose increases tomato drought tolerance, induces defenses, and increases resistance to bacterial wilt disease

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 27;17(4):e0266254. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266254. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease, leading to severe crop losses. Xylem sap from R. solanacearum-infected tomato is enriched in the disaccharide trehalose. Water-stressed plants also accumulate trehalose, which increases drought tolerance via abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Because R. solanacearum-infected plants suffer reduced water flow, we hypothesized that bacterial wilt physiologically mimics drought stress, which trehalose could mitigate. We found that R. solanacearum-infected plants differentially expressed drought-associated genes, including those involved in ABA and trehalose metabolism, and had more ABA in xylem sap. Consistent with this, treating tomato roots with ABA reduced both stomatal conductance and stem colonization by R. solanacearum. Treating roots with trehalose increased xylem sap ABA and reduced plant water use by lowering stomatal conductance and temporarily improving water use efficiency. Trehalose treatment also upregulated expression of salicylic acid (SA)-dependent tomato defense genes; increased xylem sap levels of SA and other antimicrobial compounds; and increased bacterial wilt resistance of SA-insensitive NahG tomato plants. Additionally, trehalose treatment increased xylem concentrations of jasmonic acid and related oxylipins. Finally, trehalose-treated plants were substantially more resistant to bacterial wilt disease. Together, these data show that exogenous trehalose reduced both water stress and bacterial wilt disease and triggered systemic disease resistance, possibly through a Damage Associated Molecular Pattern (DAMP) response pathway. This suite of responses revealed unexpected linkages between plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress and suggested that R. solanacearum-infected plants increase trehalose to improve water use efficiency and increase wilt disease resistance. The pathogen may degrade trehalose to counter these efforts. Together, these results suggest that treating tomatoes with exogenous trehalose could be a practical strategy for bacterial wilt management.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Disease Resistance
  • Droughts
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Salicylic Acid / metabolism
  • Solanum lycopersicum* / microbiology
  • Trehalose / metabolism

Substances

  • Trehalose
  • Salicylic Acid

Grants and funding

This research was supported by a USDA-NIFA Predoctoral Fellowship to AMM and by the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.