Systemic Acquired Resistance of Pepper to Microbial Pathogens

Abstract

To cope with the challenge of pathogens, plants have evolved a wide variety of resistance mechanisms that rely both on constitutive and on inducible defences. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR), a form of inducible resistance that occurs following an earlier localized exposure to a pathogen, provides a long-lasting systemic immunity against a wide range of pathogens in plants. The great benefits of SAR lead to its practical use in agriculture for plant disease management. Pepper (Capsicum annuum) is one of the economically important crops growing worldwide, and in this review, we summarize the scientific research-based studies of SAR in pepper during the past decades. Effects of various exogenous inducers of SAR, such as salicylic acid, DL-beta-amino-n-butyric acid, benzothiadiazols and avirulent pathogens on pepper plants have been extensively investigated by different research groups. Biochemical and molecular studies of SAR phenomena also revealed the involvement of radical burst, cell death, endogenous hormonal signalling and defence-related gene expression during SAR establishment in pepper. New knowledge and understanding emerging from the pepper SAR studies will allow the development of novel approaches to enhance the durable resistance of pepper to pathogens, thereby helping to secure the future supply of safe and nutritious pepper worldwide.