Some fungal endophytes of forest trees are recognized as beneficial symbionts against stresses. In previous works, two elm endophytes from the classes Cystobasidiomycetes and Eurotiomycetes promoted host resistance to abiotic stress, and another elm endophyte from Dothideomycetes enhanced host resistance to Dutch elm disease (DED). Here, we hypothesize that the combined effect of these endophytes activate the plant immune and/or antioxidant system, leading to a defense priming and/or increased oxidative protection when exposed to the DED pathogen Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. To test this hypothesis, the short-term defense gene activation and antioxidant response were evaluated in DED-susceptible (MDV1) and DED-resistant (VAD2 and MDV2.3) Ulmus minor genotypes inoculated with O. novo-ulmi, as well as two weeks earlier with a mixture of the above-mentioned endophytes. Endophyte inoculation induced a generalized transient defense activation mediated primarily by salicylic acid (SA). Subsequent pathogen inoculation resulted in a primed defense response of variable intensity among genotypes. Genotypes MDV1 and VAD2 displayed a defense priming driven by SA, jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET), causing a reduced pathogen spread in MDV1. Meanwhile, the genotype MDV2.3 showed lower defense priming but a stronger and earlier antioxidant response. The defense priming stimulated by elm fungal endophytes broadens our current knowledge of the ecological functions of endophytic fungi in forest trees and opens new prospects for their use in the biocontrol of plant diseases.
Keywords: Dutch elm disease; defense; fungal endophytes; gene expression; priming.