AUTHOR=Yang Yu-Bing , Yang Chang , Zheng Jia-Rui , Xu Liang-Zheng , Yao Nan 

TITLE=Chloride salt enhances plant resistance to biotic stresses

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1385164

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2024.1385164

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Biotic stresses caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens damage crops; identifying treatments that enhance disease resistance provides important information for understanding plant defenses and sustainable agriculture. Salt stress affects crop yields worldwide; however, studies have focused on the toxic sodium ion, leaving the effects of the chloride ion unclear. In this study, we found that irrigation with a combination of chloride salts (MgCl<sub>2</sub>, CaCl<sub>2</sub>, and KCl) suppressed the cell death phenotype of the ceramide kinase mutant <italic>acd5</italic>. Chloride salt pre-irrigation also significantly limited the cell death caused by <italic>Pseudomonas syringae</italic> pv <italic>maculicola</italic> infection and inhibited the multiplication of this bacterial pathogen in a mechanism partially dependent on the salicylic acid pathway. Moreover, chloride salt pre-irrigation improved plant defenses against the fungal pathogen challenge, confining the lesion area caused by <italic>Botrytis cinerea</italic> infection. Furthermore, the growth of herbivorous larvae of <italic>Spodoptera exigua</italic> was retarded by feeding on chloride salt irrigated plants. Thus, our data suggest that treatment with Cl<sup>-</sup> increases broad spectrum resistance to biotic challenges.</p>