Fusaric acid induced cell death and changes in oxidative metabolism of Solanum lycopersicum L

BACKGROUND: Fusaric acid (FA) has been shown to stimulate the rapid development of disease symptoms, such as necrosis and foliar desiccation. In this study, we have evaluated the phytotoxicity of FA on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.). FA induced necrotic lesions in detached leaves, which are reminiscent of hypersensitive response (HR) lesions induced by plant-pathogen interactions and other abiotic stress factors. RESULTS: FA-treated tomato leaves exhibited visible necrotic lesion as a result of cell death which was evident by Evans blue staining, enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and DNA degradation. Changes in the generation of O(2)(.-) and H(2)O(2) as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were examined in FA-treated tomato leaves. It was observed that FA exposure stimulated oxidative burst in the leaves, resulting in a lasting activation of O(2)(.-) and H(2)O(2) production. After first day of FA application, the H(2)O(2) scavenging enzymes CAT and APX showed a strong activity decrease followed by gradual recovery to the control level after 2 and 3 days. CONCLUSION: A concomitant increase in ROS production, the down regulation of antioxidative enzymes activities and upregulation of lipid peroxidation were crucial for the onset of cell death. These results suggested that FA-induced damage might result from ROS pathways. Thus, our experiments provide a useful model plant system for research on FA-induced plant cell death. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40529-014-0066-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.