Fungal Elicitor-mediated Changes in Polyamine Content, Phenylalanine-ammonia Lyase and Peroxidase Activities in Bean Cell Culture

Plant cells are able to shift their metabolism in response to aggressive environmental factors such as salinity, water stress, anoxia, flooding or biotic elicitors. In this work, cell suspensions of four bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes were stabilized and treated with elicitors isolated from fungal (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli) cell walls. The elicitation of the cells was effective in the induction of the activity of L-phenylalanine-ammonia lyase (PAL), a key enzyme related to defense reactions, as well as the peroxidase, an enzyme related to the antioxidative response system. The same effect was also verified in relation to the polyamine metabolism, mainly for the accumulation of the diamine putrescine. The obtained results give important information regarding the plant-pathogen interactions, mainly as subsidy for bean improvement programs seeking the adaptation to adverse environmental factors.