The Influence of Induced Oxidative Stress on the Development of Powdery Mildew Pathogen in Soft Wheat Leaves

Abstract

Experiments for the study of symptoms of the powdery mildew pathogen on wheat leaves showed that induced oxidative stress caused changes in conidial germination and appressorial formation of the wheat powdery mildew fungus. The oxidative stress was brought about by treatment with hydrogen peroxide and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole. It has been shown that prooxidants have a prominent role in regulating fungal development, leading to abnormal conidial germination, thus preventing the fungal penetration into plant cells. Treatment of wheat plants with 5 mM H2O2 and 4 mM 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole resulted in a significant reduction of powdery mildew disease severity compared to the control. In most cases, on samples of infected plant tissues there were anomalies in the elongation of germ tubes and globe-shaped appressoria. From the data which was obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the result of the interaction of powdery mildew fungus with wheat is affected by the increased generation of reactive oxygen species, leading to suppression or disruption of the pathological process.

Keywords

• abnormal conidial germination
• induced oxidative stress
• powdery mildew
• wheat