Systemic effects of Heterobasidion annosum s.s. infection on severity of Diplodia pinea tip blight and terpenoid metabolism in Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea)

Three-year-old seedlings of Pinus pinea L. were inoculated near the stem base with one of two Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. sensu stricto (s.s.) strains belonging to two populations: the North American P-group (NAm-P) and the European P-group (Eur-P). The NAm-P strain caused smaller H. annosum stem lesions than the Eur-P strain. Three weeks after the stem inoculations with H. annosum, apical shoots were inoculated with Diplodia pinea (Desmaz.) J. Kick. Basal stem infection with H. annosum resulted in D. pinea causing longer necrotic lesions in the shoots, indicating systemic induced susceptibility (SIS) to this shoot blight pathogen. Furthermore, stem induction with the NAm-P strain resulted in higher susceptibility to D. pinea than stem induction with the Eur-P strain. Total terpene accumulation was suppressed by about 50% in the shoots under attack by D. pinea when seedlings were induced with H. annosum. Total terpene concentration in shoots inoculated with D. pinea was negatively correlated with lesion size, both overall and by stem treatment. Stem base inoculation with H. annosum induced whole-plant changes in terpenoid profiles, but these were not associated with the SIS phenotype. We discuss our findings on modulation of systemic response of P. pinea to fungal attack in the context of tripartite ecological interactions.