Plants that use resources to defend themselves in the absence of pests or pathogens will pay off with energy costs that can reflect in the productivity. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the fitness costs of the resistance induced in bean plants, before the presence of the pathogen, by using biotic (Bacillus cereus) and abiotic (acibenzolar-S-methyl, ASM) inducers, applied 2, 3 or 4 times during the cycle of the culture. The protecting effect was evaluated against the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli. The activities of peroxidase, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, lignin and phenol synthesis and plant growth were evaluated too. It was observed that the inducers protected the bean plants against X. axonopodis pv. phaseoli. The ASM increased the activity of peroxidase, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, while B. cereus only increased peroxidase activity. Unlike B. cereus, the ASM increased lignin synthesis and decreased phenolic compound content and plant growth. Therefore, the resistance induced by ASM represents high fitness costs for bean plants, while the resistance induced by B. cereus represents low cost and its potential use can be explored.
Chitinase β-1,3-glucanase; peroxidase; Phaseolus vulgaris; metabolism; yield
