Natural extracts from pepper, wild rue and clove can activate defenses against pathogens in tomato plants

Tomato is an important species grown in many countries, either in fields or greenhouses. Despite decades of improvement, it is still susceptible to diseases, thus requiring the use of chemical pesticides, especially in greenhouses. Nevertheless it is imperative to reduce the use of environmental-unfriendly phytochemicals and favor less toxic tools to fight pathogens. Plants possess elaborate mechanisms against diseases that can lead to resistance. In the present work, we investigate the induction of plant defenses by means of extracts from plants widespread and easy to find, also known for their antimicrobial properties. Aqueous extracts of pepper ‘Rocoto’, wild rue and ethanolic extracts of clove powder (whose inhibiting effect was assessed on Oidium sp. spores) were tested on tomato plants for their ability to induce expression of different defense genes (PRs and regulatory proteins) after spraying. As revealed by RT-qPCR, all extracts were able to induce mRNA accumulation of different PR and MAPK regulators for several hours upon treatment, with clove and wild rue being the strongest. This effect could also be reproduced in tomato plants after a second treatment, 15 days after the first. The same extracts were tested in tomato and tobacco plants via leaf infiltration, showing necrotic symptoms associated with the hypersensitive response, thus confirming the priming capacity of the extracts. The involvement of salicylic acid (SA) in these responses was verified by HPLC analysis and in SA-depleted transgenic tobacco (NahG). The results obtained suggest that natural antimicrobial extracts can be used to induce plant defenses and protect valuable crops. At the same time these low-cost extracts do not pose a threat to the environment or the farmer and can help reduce the farming costs, especially in developing countries.