A strobilurin fungicide alleviates photosynthetic impairments on wheat leaves infected by Bipolaris sorokiniana
摘要
Spot blotch, caused by the fungus Bipolaris sorokiniana, is a destructive disease in all wheat-producing regions worldwide. The spray of wheat plants with strobirulins decreases the epidemic rate of spot blotch and, consequently, avoids great yield losses. This study hypothesized that azoxystrobin-sprayed plants will display less impairments on their photosynthetic apparatus and reduced oxidative stress due to infection by B. sorokiniana. Flag leaves from plants (cultivar Guamirim, susceptible to spot blotch) were non-sprayed (-F) or sprayed (+ F) with azoxystrobin and non-inoculated or inoculated with B. sorokiniana. Severity of spot blotch for + F plants was significantly lower by 84, 80, and 69% at 48, 72, and 96 h after inoculation, respectively, compared to -F plants. Infected flag leaves from + F plants displayed a better photosynthetic performance (greater values for net carbon assimilation rate, stomatal conductance to water vapour, internal CO2 concentration, transpiration rate, maximal photosystem II quantum yield, maximal fluorescence, effective photosystem II quantum yield, quantum yield of regulated energy dissipation, and quantum yield of regulated energy dissipation) linked to higher concentrations of chlorophyll a + b and carotenoids compared to their -F plants counterparts. In contrast to the infected flag leaves from + F plants, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities were significantly higher for infected flag leaves from -F plants. In conclusion, the spray of azoxystrobin helped to reduce the oxidative stress imposed by fungal infection on wheat leaves and ensured less damage to their photosynthetic apparatus.