Molecular study of the effect of exogenous phytohormones application in “stolbur” phytoplasma infected tomatoes on disease development

‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ alters developmental processes in tomato and cause malformations of both vegetative and reproductive organs. The study was performed to determine the effect of application of phytohormones on “stolbur” strain PO infected tomato and to assess whether application of BTH, an analogue of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylen (Et) could protect tomato against the “stolbur” disease development. Expression of SA- and JA-dependent marker genes was also studied in tomato by qRT-PCR. Results indicated that the SA-mediated defence response delay the “stolbur” phytoplasma strain PO multiplication in contrast to the JA and Et-dependent defence pathways.