Roles of ethylene in regulating the susceptibility of cut roses to Botrytis cinerea

Suong Tuyet Thi Ha is a postdoctoral researcher at the Postharvest Physiology Lab, Department of Smart Horticultural Science, Andong National University, South Korea, under the supervision of Prof. Byung-Chun In. Her research interests are postharvest physiology, ethylene, the senescence of cut flowers, and the development of techniques to detect water stress and grey mould disease in cut rose flowers. Cut roses are susceptible to grey mould disease caused by Botrytis cinerea. The severity of the disease symptoms is influenced by the presence of ethylene during storage and transportation. The objectives of the current study were to elucidate the role of ethylene and/or ethylene inhibitors in the rose-B. cinerea pathosystem. In addition, the expression levels of genes related to the histidine kinase receptor, fungal growth and pathogenicity of B. cinerea were analyzed to understand how B. cinerea senses and responds to ethylene. The results showed that the susceptibility of cut roses to B. cinerea was positively correlated with flower senescence, which was induced by ethylene synthesis in petals. B. cinerea infection in cut roses activated ethylene biosynthesis and signaling pathways in rose petals. In this study, a working model for ethylene binding and plant and fungus actions in the rose-B. cinerea pathosystem was also established. Ethylene controlled and regulated the growth and infection of B. cinerea in cut roses both directly by binding to the fungal histidine kinase receptors and then activating the genes related to penetration and hypersensitive response, and indirectly by stimulating the ethylene response in the host plants. The inhibition of the fungal histidine kinase receptors and the suppression of ethylene responses in rose petals by 1-MCP made cut roses resistant to B. cinerea. Further explorations into the interactions between B. cinerea and ethylene inhibitors will help improve treatments for controlling grey mould disease in cut rose flowers.

Suong Tuyet Thi Ha won the ISHS Young Minds Award for the best oral presentation at the XII International Symposium on Postharvest Quality of Ornamental Plants in the Netherlands in May 2023.

Suong Tuyet Thi Ha, Postharvest Physiology Lab, Department of Smart Horticultural Science, Andong National University, 1375 Gyeongdong, Songcheon, Andong, South Korea, e-mail: tuyetsuongha@gmail.com

The article is available in Chronica Horticulturae