Abstract
Alternatives to chemicals for plant management are increasingly used to reduce environmental pollution. Seed treatment with natural products may act as a priming effect by stimulating seedling growth and plant defence responses against fungal pathogens. In this framework, algae produce a wide variety of bioactive metabolites, which can be used in agriculture as biofertilizers or biostimulants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible role of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSPs) from the brown alga Ecklonia maxima applied on tomato seed in enhancing plant growth and inducing resistance to Fusarium oxysporum via modulation of multiple physiological parameters and metabolic pathways. Here, we first characterized the E. maxima WSPs by FT-IR spectroscopy, and then we tested the WSPs as growth promoters on tomato seedlings, and the physiological and defence responses of plants during pathogen infection. We found that WSP seed treatment without pathogen challenge stimulated seedling height and root growth by 24.5 and 62.9%, respectively. Under pathogen infection, plants exhibited long-lasting resistance against F. oxysporum until 46 days after seed treatment. The metabolic changes associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in plant roots were related to an increase in phenols, flavonoids and protein contents as well as a higher chitinase and β-1,3-D-glucanase enzyme activity. Moreover, PR1a, PR3 and other defence gene expressions were significantly increased. Resistance to F. oxysporum as a result of WSP seed treatment was also supported by FT-IR analysis of tomato roots. Infected roots showed a decrease in the relative intensity of the bands due to the syringyl ring and amide I and amide II in proteins. In contrast, WSP treatment alone and in the presence of the pathogen exhibited a spectral profile similar to that of the control. This research emphasizes the potential role of algal polysaccharides applied by seed treatment in promoting seedling growth and priming plant resistance against soil-borne pathogens.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
WSP seed treatment without pathogen challenge stimulated tomato seedling height by 24.5%.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- WSP seed treatmente0
- Outcome
- seedling heighte0
- Direction
- stimulatede0
- Value
- 24.5e0
- Qualifier
- without pathogen challengee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e0“We found that WSP seed treatment without pathogen challenge stimulated seedling height and root growth by 24.5 and 62.9%, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
WSP seed treatment without pathogen challenge stimulated tomato root growth by 62.9%.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- WSP seed treatmente0
- Outcome
- root growthe0
- Direction
- stimulatede0
- Value
- 62.9%e0
- Qualifier
- without pathogen challengee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e0“We found that WSP seed treatment without pathogen challenge stimulated seedling height and root growth by 24.5 and 62.9%, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Under pathogen infection, seed treatment gave tomato plants long-lasting resistance against Fusarium oxysporum until 46 days after treatment.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- seed treatmente1
- Interactor
- F. oxysporum
Fusarium oxysporume1pathogen - Outcome
- long-lasting resistance against F. oxysporume1
- Qualifier
- until 46 days after seed treatmente1
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

_(Fusarium_oxysporum_f.sp._batatas)_1234227-PPT-Clemson_University.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e1“Under pathogen infection, plants exhibited long-lasting resistance against F. oxysporum until 46 days after seed treatment”
Claim · model-written summary
Metabolic changes associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in tomato roots were related to increased phenols, flavonoids and protein contents.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Organ / stage
- plant rootse2
- Outcome
- phenols, flavonoids and protein contentse2
- Direction
- increasee2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e2“The metabolic changes associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in plant roots were related to an increase in phenols, flavonoids and protein contents as well as a higher chitinase and β-1,3-D-glucanase enzyme activity”
Claim · model-written summary
Metabolic changes associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in tomato roots were related to higher chitinase and β-1,3-D-glucanase enzyme activity.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Organ / stage
- plant rootse2
- Outcome
- chitinase and β-1,3-D-glucanase enzyme activitye2
- Direction
- highere2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e2“The metabolic changes associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in plant roots were related to an increase in phenols, flavonoids and protein contents as well as a higher chitinase and β-1,3-D-glucanase enzyme activity”
Claim · model-written summary
PR1a, PR3 and other defence gene expressions were significantly increased in tomato.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Gene
- PR1a, PR3e3
- Outcome
- defence gene expressionse3
- Direction
- increasede3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e3“Moreover, PR1a, PR3 and other defence gene expressions were significantly increased”
Claim · model-written summary
Infected tomato roots showed a decrease in the relative intensity of FT-IR bands for the syringyl ring and amide I and amide II of proteins.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Organ / stage
- rootse4
- Outcome
- relative intensity of the bandse4
- Direction
- decreasee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e4“Infected roots showed a decrease in the relative intensity of the bands due to the syringyl ring and amide I and amide II in proteins”
Claim · model-written summary
WSP treatment alone and with the pathogen gave a spectral profile of tomato roots similar to the control.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- WSP treatmente5
- Outcome
- spectral profilee5
- Direction
- similare5
- Comparator
- the controle5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
t0“growth promoter of tomato seedlings”
e5“WSP treatment alone and in the presence of the pathogen exhibited a spectral profile similar to that of the control”
The same questions in other papers
seed treatment · growth · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
120 papers in the same direction as this paper · 10 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- no effect
- no effect
127 papers more in this group
See all 131 papers →seed treatment · Fusarium oxysporum · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results agree
8 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
5 papers more in this group
See all 9 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.