Sublethal heavy metal stress stimulates innate immunity in tomato.

Effect of sublethal heavy metal stress as plant biotic elicitor for triggering innate immunity in tomato plant was investigated. Copper in in vivo condition induced accumulation of defense enzymes like peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), and β-1,3 glucanase along with higher accumulation of total phenol, antioxidative enzymes (catalase and ascorbate peroxidase), and total chlorophyll content. Furthermore, the treatment also induced nitric oxide (NO) production which was confirmed by realtime visualization of NO burst using a fluorescent probe 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2DA) and spectrophotometric analysis. The result suggested that the sublethal dose of heavy metal can induce an array of plant defense responses that lead to the improvement of innate immunity in plants.

1. Introduction

The productivity of crops is decreasing rapidly due to the negative impact of various environmental stresses such as exposure to salinity, heavy metals, wounding, drought, cold, air pollution, and ultraviolet rays. Exposure to stress can lead to the disruption of physiological, cellular, and molecular processes via oxidative damage [1]. However, sometimes some sublethal stresses can also boost certain other stress tolerances of plants indirectly, through an array of morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses. This process ultimately reduces the stress-exposed damage and facilitates damage repair system [2]. Heavy metals have become one of the major abiotic stress agents for living organisms. Excess of heavy metals causes growth inhibition, senescence stimulation, and shortening and thickening of roots along with many other physiological and biochemical disorders [3]. In recent times, metal ions are being utilized to improve the innate immunity in various plants [4-6]. Acharya et al. [5] and Aziz et al. [4] have shown that the application of salt of heavy metals like cupric chloride (CuCl2) and copper sulphate (CuSO4) can induce defense response in Raphanus leaf and in grapevine against mold and powdery mildew. This induction of resistance was related with the overexpression of different defense gene products including PO, PAL, β-1,3 glucanase, and polyphenol oxidase and also with higher accumulation of phenolic compounds. In recent days NO is emerging as a potent bioactive signal molecule that participates in various pathophysiological and developmental processes including abiotic and biotic stresses [7-10].

In this context, an attempt has been made to find out the relative changes in the levels of different plant defense enzymes and other abiotic stress markers as well as the production of NO that is activated by sublethal copper stress in a model plant tomato.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Plant Material

The experiments were carried out with the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants raised from seed in pots (6 × 6 × 10 cm) with a potting mixture (clay/coco pit/sand, 3 : 2 : 1, v/v) in greenhouse conditions. Plants were maintained at 25 ± 2°C under a photoperiod of 14 h light and 10 h dark.

2.2. Treatment

One-month-old tomato plants were sprayed with cupric chloride (CuCl2) at three different concentrations (1, 2.5, and 5 mM), on the basis of the findings of Kaplan [11]. Each concentration of CuCl2 was prepared separately in sterile distilled water. Treatment of same-aged plants with distilled water served as control. Each experiment was carried out with three replications.

2.3. Enzyme Assays

The leaf tissues were collected from different treated sets after 24 h incubation and were homogenized with liquid nitrogen. Five hundred milligrams of powdered sample was extracted with 2 mL of extraction buffer specific for different enzymes, containing 0.1% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and 20 mL of 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF): 0.1 M of sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.0) for β-1,3 glucanase; 0.1 M sodium borate buffer (pH 8.7) for PAL; and 0.1 M of sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) for PO, catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and PPO. All the extraction procedures were conducted at 4°C. The homogenate was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 20 min at 4°C. The supernatants were used as the crude enzyme source for the enzymatic assay. Then it was transferred to a 2 mL eppendorf tube and stored at −80°C for further use.

β-1,3 Glucanase activity was assayed according to the method of Pan et al. [12] with minor modification. The reaction mixture was prepared with crude enzyme extract (50 μL) mixed with equal amount of the substrate 1% laminarin and was incubated for 1 hr at room temperature. Then the reaction was stopped by adding 300 μL of dinitrosalicylic acid reagent followed by boiling for 10 min on a boiling water bath. The resulting colored solution was diluted with the addition of distilled water to make the total volume up to 2 mL and vortexed and the absorption was measured at 520 nm. The blank set was prepared with equal amounts of crude enzyme and laminarin without incubation. The enzyme activity was expressed as μmol of glucose released min−1 g−1 protein.

PO activity was carried out, following the method of Hemeda and Klein [13]. The substrate was prepared by addition of 1% guaiacol (5 mL) and 0.3% H2O2 (5 mL) to 50 mL of 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5). The reaction mixture was prepared with 2.95 mL of substrate and 0.05 mL of enzyme extract and the absorption change was measured at 470 nm for 3 min. PO activity was determined by the increase in the absorbance due to guaiacol oxidation and was expressed as change in the absorption of the reaction mixture min−1 g−1 of protein (Є = 26.6 mM−1 cm−1).

PPO activity was estimated using the method of Kumar and Khan [14]. The reaction mixture consisted of 2 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 0.5 mL of crude enzyme extract, and 1 mL of 0.1 M catechol. The assay mixture was incubated for 10 min at room temperature. Reaction was stopped by adding 1 mL of 2.5 N H2SO4. The absorption of purpurogallin formed was read at 495 nm. The blank was prepared by adding 2.5 N H2SO4 at zero time for the same assay mixture. PPO activity was expressed in U mg−1 protein (U = change in 0.1 absorbance min−1 mg−1 protein).

PAL activity was determined as the rate of conversion of L-phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid at 290 nm [15]. Assay mixture consisted of 200 μL of enzyme extract that was incubated with 1.3 mL of 0.1 M borate buffer (pH 8.7) and 0.5 mL of 12 mM L-phenyl alanine for 30 min at 30°C. The amount of trans-cinnamic acid synthesized was calculated by measuring absorbance at 290 nm after 1 hour of incubation. Enzyme activity was expressed as synthesis of trans-cinnamic acid (in nmol quantities) min−1 g−1 protein.

APX activity was determined according to Nakano and Asada [16]. The reaction mixture contained 50 mM potassium phosphate (pH 7.0), 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM ascorbic acid, 2% H2O2, and 0.1 mL enzyme extract in a final volume of 3 mL. The decrease in absorbance at 290 nm for 1 min was recorded and the amount of ascorbate oxidized was calculated using extinction coefficient (Є = 2.8 mM−1 APX was defined as 1 mmol mL−1 per min cm−1). One unit of ascorbate oxidized as 1 mmol mL−1 ascorbate oxidized per min.

CAT was determined spectrophotometrically following the method Cakmak and Horst [17] with minor modifications. The reaction mixture contains 100 μL of the crude enzyme extract and 50 μL of hydrogen peroxide (0.3%) and volume was made up to 3 mL by addition of phosphate buffer (50 mM, pH-7.0). The reaction is initiated by the addition of hydrogen peroxide. The decrease in absorbance was recorded for three minutes for a wavelength of 240 nm. CAT activity was expressed as mmol min−1 g−1 of protein with help of a molar extinction coefficient Є = 39400 M−1 cm−1.

2.4. Estimation of Total Protein Content

The standard Bradford assay [18] was employed, using bovine serum albumin as a standard, to test the protein concentration of each extract.

2.5. Estimation of Total Phenol

Estimation of total phenol was determined as described in [19] with some modification. 250 mg of fresh leaf tissue was homogenized in 2 mL of 80% methanol and the material was kept and maintained in 65°C for 15 minutes. The material was then centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 10 minutes at room temperature and the supernatant was used for total phenol estimation. The reaction mixture was prepared by adding 1 mL of crude extract to the mixture of 5 mL distilled water and 250 μL of 1 N Folin Ciocalteu reagent. The reaction mixture was incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Total phenol content was measured spectrophotometrically at 725 nm using gallic acid as standard. The amount of total phenol was expressed as μg gallic acid produced g−1 tissue.

2.6. Estimation of Total Flavonoid Content

Total flavonoid content was determined by following the method of Chang et al. [20] with slight modification. 150 mg of fresh leaf tissue was ground in 2 mL of 80% ethanol and the material was kept in dark place for 30 min. After that it was then centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 5 min at room temperature. The reaction mixture was prepared with 1 mL of crude extract (supernatant) mixed with 4.3 mL of 80% aqueous ethanol, 0.1 mL of 10% aluminum nitrate, and 0.1 mL of 1 M aqueous sodium acetate. The reaction mixture was then kept in dark place for 30 min. After incubation, the absorption was measured at 415 nm. The amount of total flavonoid was expressed as μg of quercetin g−1 of the tissue sample.

2.7. Estimation of Chlorophyll Content

Total chlorophyll was estimated following Arnon's method [21]. 500 mg of fresh leaf sample was ground in 4 mL of 80% alkaline acetone (20 mL of 0.1 N NaOH) and the extract was centrifuged at 7,000 rpm for 10 min at room temperature. The supernatant was collected and absorbance of the solution was read at 645 and 663 for total chlorophyll and was calculated by following formula: where D is the optical density; V is the final volume of 80% acetone (mL); and w is the dry weight of sample taken (g).

2.8. Estimation Nitric Oxide

Production of NO was estimated by haemoglobin assay [22] during the pick time of blister blight severity period after 24 h of treatment cycle. Leaf tissues of control and treated set were incubated in a reaction mixture containing 10 mM L-arginine and 10 mM haemoglobin in a total volume of 5 mL of 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Production of NO was measured spectrophotometrically at 401 nm and NO levels were calculated using an extinction coefficient of 38,600 M−1 cm−1 [23] after 2 h of incubation; NO content in the reaction mixture was measured as nmol of NO produced g−1 tissue h−1 and was compared with appropriate control set.

Real time NO production was visualised using membrane permeable fluorochrome DAF-2DA dye [24]. Thin transverse section of leaf petiole was placed in a brown bottle containing 1 mL of loading buffer, 10 mM KCl, and 10 mM Tris HCl (pH 7.2) with DAF-2DA at a final concentration of 10 mM for 20 min in dark. Fluorescence was observed with Leica DMLS microscope at excitation wavelength 480 nm and emission wavelength 500–600 nm.

2.9. In Vivo Detection of H2O2

The in vivo detection of H2O2 in control and treated tomato leaves was carried out using DAB by following the method of Thordal-Christensen et al. [25]. After treatment as mentioned earlier, the cut ends of the leaves were then immersed in a solution containing 1 mg/mL diaminobenzidine (DAB) solution (pH-3.8) and incubated for 8 h. After incubation a central 3 square cm segment of leaves was excised and laid adaxial surface up on filter paper moistened with an ethanol and glacial acetic acid mixture (3 : 1, v/v) until the chlorophyll had been removed. After bleaching tissues were transferred to water soaked filter paper for at least 4 h to relax and finally to paper soaked with lactoglycerol (1 : 1 : 1, lactic acid : glycerol : water, v/v) for another 24 h. The cleared leaf segments were then observed under light microscope.

2.10. Statistics

All data presented were means ± one standard error (SE) of three replicates. Statistical analyses were performed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS software version 20. Differences between treatments were separated by the least significant difference (LSD) test at a 0.05 probability level.

3. Results

3.1. Effects of CuCl2 on Defense Enzyme Activity

Foliar application of CuCl2 at three different concentrations was effective in inducing defense enzymes like PO, PPO, PAL, and β-1,3 glucanase and other antioxidative enzymes like CAT and APX in tomato plant (Table 1). However, 2.5 mM concentration of CuCl2 showed the most promising response in inducing defense enzymes. After 24 h of treatment CuCl2 at a concentration 2.5 mM showed 1.77-, 1.86-, 2.03-, and 1.7-fold higher accumulation of PPO, PO, β-1,3 glucanase, and PAL, respectively. It was interesting to note that at higher concentrations of CuCl2 accumulation of defense enzyme activity becomes gradually lower. Furthermore, accumulation of antioxidative enzyme like APX follows the same trend like other defense enzymes, as CuCl2 treatment at a concentration 2.5 mM showed highest 2.3-fold increases in APX activity and gradually becomes lower. However, increasing trend towards the higher concentrations of CuCl2 was observed for CAT enzyme.

Table 1

Effect of CuCl2 on the production of defense and antioxidative enzymes in tomato plants. Values represent mean ± SE of three separate experiments, each in triplicate.

Enzymes	Control	Concentrations of CuCl2
		1 mM	2.5 mM	5 mM
Peroxidase (PO) [µmol min−1 g−1 protein]	188.45 ± 14.01c	267.96 ± 7.90b	334.51 ± 9.23a	239.55 ± 9.10b
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) [U min−1 g−1 protein]	29.44 ± 1.12c	32.25 ± 2.08c	54.77 ± 2.37a	40.855 ± 1.47b
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) [nmol of trans-cinnamic acid min−1 g−1 protein]	94.23 ± 4.39d	123.55 ± 6.95c	165.22 ± 3.12a	140.38 ± 3.78b
β-1,3 Glucanase[µmol glucose produced min−1 g−1 protein]	26.38 ± 2.29d	40.1 ± 1.13c	53.25 ± 2.34a	47.1 ± 1.39b
Catalase (CAT) [mmol min−1 g−1 protein]	6.83 ± 0.30d	11.74 ± 0.61c	15.09 ± 0.47b	17.67 ± 0.56a
Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) [µmol min−1 g−1 protein]	0.177 ± 0.021c	0.321 ± 0.024b	0.408 ± 0.025a	0.253 ± 0.014b

Sharing the same letter are not significantly different (P < 0.05) using Duncan's multiple range test.

3.2. Effects of CuCl2 on Total Phenol and Flavonoid Content in Tomato Plant

All concentrations of CuCl2 influence total phenolic content in tomato plant (Figure 1). However, CuCl2 at a concentration 2.5 mM was found to be the most effective to induce 1.79-fold increase compared to control. Moderate level of increase in flavonoid content was also observed under sublethal dose of CuCl2 (Figure 1). Like phenolic content at 2.5 mM concentration of CuCl2 showed higher flavonoid production (23%) in tomato plant.

Figure 1

Effect of CuCl2 on production of NO (a). Total chlorophyll (b), Total phenol (c), and Total flavonoid content (d), in tomato plants. Values represent mean ± SE of three separate experiments, each in triplicate. Sharing the same letter are not significantly different (P < 0.05) using Duncan's multiple range test.

3.3. Effects of CuCl2 on NO Production in Tomato Plant

A significant increase of NO production was observed at all concentrations of CuCl2 (Figure 1). However, highest increase (2.9-fold) was observed in the plant treated with 2.5 mM of CuCl2. NO production was further justified by using DAF-2DA, a fluorophore widely used for the detection and imaging of NO. Similar kind of change in NO production was observed as monitored by spectrophotometry (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Nitric oxide visualization in the leaf petiole sections of tomato by DAF-2DA stain, 24 h after CuCl2 treatment. Generation of NO was detected by green fluorescence. (a) Control; (b) treatment with 1 mM CuCl2; (c) treatment with 2.5 mM CuCl2; and (d) treatment with 5 mM CuCl2.

3.4. Effects of CuCl2 on H2O2 Production in Tomato Plant

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was monitored by using DAB, a dye widely used for the detection and imaging of H2O2. From Figure 3 it was clearly observed that amount of ROS production was varied according to the concentrations of CuCl2. Highest ROS generation was noticed in the plant treated with 5 mM of CuCl2.

Figure 3

H2O2 detection in tomato leaves by DAB stain, 24 h after CuCl2 treatment. (a) Control; (b) treatment with 1 mM CuCl2; (c) treatment with 2.5 mM CuCl2; and (d) treatment with 5 mM CuCl2.

3.5. Effects of CuCl2 on Chlorophyll Contents

Total leaf chlorophyll was decreased with increasing concentrations of CuCl2 stress (Figure 1). At lower concentrations of CuCl2 like 1 mM and 2.5 mM treatment showed slight enhancement of total chlorophyll content. However, CuCl2 at 5 mM concentration showed negative effect on the synthesis of chlorophyll.

4. Discussion

In this study changes in biochemical defense responses in tomato plants upon foliar application of CuCl2 were investigated. Copper is an essential micronutrient in plants, but in excess it can adversely affect plant growth and metabolism. Exposure to high level of copper stress significantly decreases plant biomass [26]. Our investigation demonstrated that the application of low concentration of CuCl2 salt showed significant increase in defense-related enzyme accumulation like PO, PPO, PAL, β-1,3 glucanases, and total phenol. This observation supports our previous findings where Raphanus leaves showed higher induction of various defense enzymes and total phenol upon treatment with several elicitors including CuCl2 [5]. Also, the higher level of total flavonoid accumulation in tomato plants might be an indication of enhanced resistance against pathogens.

The defense enzymes PO and PPO play an important role in the biosynthesis of lignin and other oxidative phenols [27, 28], and PO is involved in the production or modulation of reactive oxygen species, which may play an important role in reducing pathogen viability and spread [28]. PAL is the first enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway and is involved in the biosynthesis of phenolics, phytoalexins, and lignins [29]. Therefore, the increase in PAL activity might have a contribution in improvement of plant defense. Induction of defense enzymes like PAL is one of the responses of the host to treatment with elicitors [6]. PR protein like β-1,3 glucanase is a host-coded protein having direct action against fungal cell wall compounds like glucan. Earlier our group [6] demonstrated that protection of Camellia sinensis plants against blister blight disease by CaCl2 treatment was accompanied by increased activities of β-1,3 glucanases. Phenols are involved in several physiological roles like phytoalexin accumulation, biosynthesis of lignin, and formation of structural barriers [6]. Higher accumulation of phenol produces greater resistance to pathogen attack. The accumulation of phenol by the phenyl propanoid pathway due to various elicitor treatments has already been documented earlier [30, 31]. Previously our group also showed that upon treatment with Alternaria toxin, as an inducer, to Rauvolfia serpentina callus higher amount of phenols over untreated controls were produced [32].

Plants possess a range of potential cellular mechanisms that may be involved in heavy metal detoxification giving tolerance towards metal stress [33]. Over the last 15 years or so NO has emerged as an important signaling molecule behind several physiological events including biotic and abiotic stresses. We reported previously that the level of NO in plant is the key determinant of resistance and susceptibility [34]. Elevation in NO level was observed in R. sativus by elicitors [5] and in tea plants by CaCl2 [6], showing its involvement in the signal transduction process leading to induced defense responses. Gaupels et al. [35] showed NO as a transducer of stress signal in plants. It has also been reported that H2O2 acts together with NO during programmed cell death [36]. Thus, NO appears as an early signaling component, possibly orchestrating a number of downstream signaling pathways [37]. In this study, sublethal dose of CuCl2 (2.5 mM) showed greater NO production than the untreated control set. This result signifies that higher accumulation of NO might have played a role in the upregulation of defense enzyme activity in tomato plants. Furthermore, NO signaling is related to its crosstalk with ROS. Almost all the abiotic stressors responses generate free radicals and other oxidants, in different cellular organelles [38], which produce oxidative stress in terms of an increased level of ROS in plant cells [1]. In the present investigation, relatively low amounts of ROS generation were observed by DAB staining in tomato plants treated with CuCl2. Simultaneous increase in antioxidant enzymes like CAT and APX in the treated plants was also noticed. Our present results coincide perfectly with that of Singh et al. [39], who demonstrated the antioxidative properties of NO in soybean cell cultures under heavy metal stress.

In conclusion, the data presented in this study showed that CAT and APX were involved in ROS detoxification to protect the plant from oxidative stress and enhancement of defense molecules to protect the plant from pathogenic threat, and also increased production of NO might act as a signal for defense gene expression and other physiological functions that can be efficiently used for phytostabilization process.