UP-REGULATION OF PUTATIVE DEFENCE-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPTS CORRELATES WITH ELICITOR-INDUCED RIPE ROT REDUCTION IN 'HORT16A' KIWIFRUIT

Preharvest application of the elicitors methyl jasmanoate (MJ) and salicylic acid analogue (SAA) induced a 79 and 70% reduction respectively in ripe rot (Cryptosporiopsis actinidiae) incidence on Actinidia chinensis ‘Hort16A’ kiwifruit compared with the control treatment. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to investigate the transcriptional levels of seven putative genes in the treated fruit. Thaumatin-like protein (TLP), class I chitinase, class IV acidic chitinase, and especially β-1,3-glucosidae are involved in ripe rot resistance induced by salicylic acid pathway elicitors whereas only class I and class IV acid chitinase are associated with resistance induced by jasmonic acid pathway elicitors.