Low temperature delay and inhibition of a plant defence mechanism: early basal resistance in tobacco

The development of local early basal resistance (EBR), is a form of non-specific general defence response of plants to bacteria, greatly depending on temperature. This symptomless defence mechanism is easily detected by its inhibitory action on the hypersensitive response (HR) caused by a subsequent incompatible pathogenic bacterium. Both EBR and HR were investigated at different temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 5 °C. At normal temperatures (30-20 °C) both heat-killed Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 61 (polyvirulent to many plants) and Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola S21 (pathogenic to bean) induced EBR in tobacco leaves within a few hours, but below 10 °C it was greatly delayed and at 5 °C usually no EBR response could be detected within 2-3 days. The time required for development of EBR did not depend on the bacterial pathovars or strains. However, the induction time of HR was not as sensitive to low temperatures as that of EBR, instead, it depended on the bacterial pathovars used.