Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato
The control of bacterial plant diseases is very challenging and often relies on the application of copper compounds, although the frequent emergence and spread of resistant bacterial strains compromise their efficacy. Additionally, copper-based compounds raise environmental and human health concerns...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/431 |
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| author | Benedetta Orfei Anna Scian Daniele Del Buono Michela Paglialunga Ciro Tolisano Dario Priolo Chiaraluce Moretti Roberto Buonaurio |
| author_facet | Benedetta Orfei Anna Scian Daniele Del Buono Michela Paglialunga Ciro Tolisano Dario Priolo Chiaraluce Moretti Roberto Buonaurio |
| author_sort | Benedetta Orfei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The control of bacterial plant diseases is very challenging and often relies on the application of copper compounds, although the frequent emergence and spread of resistant bacterial strains compromise their efficacy. Additionally, copper-based compounds raise environmental and human health concerns, leading to their inclusion in the European Commission’s list of candidates for substitution. As a promising and sustainable alternative, we investigated the efficacy of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in protecting tomato plants against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato (Pst), the causal agent of bacterial speck disease. ZnO-NPs exhibited significant <i>in vitro</i> antibacterial activity (EC<sub>95</sub> = 17.0 ± 1.1 ppm) against the pathogen. Furthermore, when applied to the foliage of tomato plants at 100 ppm before or following Pst inoculation, they induced significant reductions in symptom severity and bacterial growth <i>in planta</i>, which were comparable to those shown by plants treated with acibenzolar-S-methyl, a plant defense inducer. Gene expression assessed by qPCR revealed the involvement of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) pathway in tomato plants treated with ZnO-NPs before inoculation, suggesting that the observed protection could be due to a priming effect. Finally, infected plants showed oxidative stress, with higher H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. ZnO-NPs reverted this effect, containing the content of the above molecules, and stimulated the production of metabolites involved in dealing with oxidative perturbations (carotenoids and phenols), while unaffecting flavonoids and anthocyanins. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ff310d7f0715418fbaee5f0b194c4d38 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-ff310d7f0715418fbaee5f0b194c4d382025-08-20T03:13:51ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-04-0111443110.3390/horticulturae11040431Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomatoBenedetta Orfei0Anna Scian1Daniele Del Buono2Michela Paglialunga3Ciro Tolisano4Dario Priolo5Chiaraluce Moretti6Roberto Buonaurio7Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, ItalyThe control of bacterial plant diseases is very challenging and often relies on the application of copper compounds, although the frequent emergence and spread of resistant bacterial strains compromise their efficacy. Additionally, copper-based compounds raise environmental and human health concerns, leading to their inclusion in the European Commission’s list of candidates for substitution. As a promising and sustainable alternative, we investigated the efficacy of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in protecting tomato plants against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato (Pst), the causal agent of bacterial speck disease. ZnO-NPs exhibited significant <i>in vitro</i> antibacterial activity (EC<sub>95</sub> = 17.0 ± 1.1 ppm) against the pathogen. Furthermore, when applied to the foliage of tomato plants at 100 ppm before or following Pst inoculation, they induced significant reductions in symptom severity and bacterial growth <i>in planta</i>, which were comparable to those shown by plants treated with acibenzolar-S-methyl, a plant defense inducer. Gene expression assessed by qPCR revealed the involvement of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) pathway in tomato plants treated with ZnO-NPs before inoculation, suggesting that the observed protection could be due to a priming effect. Finally, infected plants showed oxidative stress, with higher H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. ZnO-NPs reverted this effect, containing the content of the above molecules, and stimulated the production of metabolites involved in dealing with oxidative perturbations (carotenoids and phenols), while unaffecting flavonoids and anthocyanins.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/431zinc oxide nanoparticlesgreen synthesistomato<i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| spellingShingle | Benedetta Orfei Anna Scian Daniele Del Buono Michela Paglialunga Ciro Tolisano Dario Priolo Chiaraluce Moretti Roberto Buonaurio Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato Horticulturae zinc oxide nanoparticles green synthesis tomato <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title | Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title_full | Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title_fullStr | Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title_short | Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Tomato Plants Against <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| title_sort | biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles protect tomato plants against i pseudomonas syringae i pv tomato |
| topic | zinc oxide nanoparticles green synthesis tomato <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> pv. tomato |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/431 |
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