INDUCTION OF ISOPEROXIDASES IN RESISTANT AND SUSCEPTIBLE TOMATO CULTIVARS BY MELOIDOGYNE-INCOGNITA

Isoperoxidases were detected in resistant Rossol and susceptible Roma VF tomato roots uninfected and infected by Meloidogyne incognita. Syringaldazine, guaiacol, p-phenylenediamine-pyrocatechol (PPD-PC), and indoleacetic acid (IAA) were used as substrates, and the corresponding peroxidative activities were detected either in cytoplasmic or in cell wall fractions, except for IAA oxidase, which was measured in soluble and microsomal fractions. Isoperoxidase activities and cellular locations were induced differently in resistant and susceptible cultivars by nematodes. Nematode infestation markedly enhanced syringaldazine oxidase activity in cell walls of the resistant cultivar. This isoperoxidase is involved in the last step of lignin deposition in plants. Conversely, the susceptible cultivar reacted to M. incognita infection with an increase in cytoplasmic PPD-PC oxidase activity, which presumedly is involved in ethylene production; no changes in cell wall isoperoxidases were observed. IAA oxidase was inhibited in susceptible plants after nematode inoculation, whereas in resistant plants this activity increased in the soluble fraction and decreased in the microsomal fraction.