Hot air treatment activates defense responses and induces resistance against Botrytis cinerea in strawberry fruit

The effect of hot air (HA, 45°C, 3.5 h) treatment on reducing gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea in strawberry fruit and the possible mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that HA treatment significantly reduced lesion diameter and enhanced activities of chitinase (CHI), β-1,3-glucanase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) in strawberry fruit. Total phenolic contents were also increased by HA treatment. The activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were higher in HA treated strawberry fruit than those in control. Expression of three defense related genes such as CAT, CCR-1 allele and PLA6 was greatly induced in HA treated strawberry fruit with or without inoculation by B. cinerea. In addition, the in vitro experiment showed that HA treatment inhibited spore germination and tube growth of B. cinerea. These results suggested that HA treatment directly activated disease resistance against B. cinerea in strawberry fruit without priming response and directly inhibiting growth of B. cinerea.