Overexpression of auxin/indole-3-acetic acid gene MdIAA24 enhances Glomerella leaf spot resistance in apple(Malus domestica)

Auxin is throughout the entire life process of plants and is involved in the crosstalk with other hormones,yet its role in apple disease resistance remains unclear.In this study,we investigated the function of auxin/indole-3-acetic acid(IAA)gene Md IAA24 overexpression in enhancing apple resistance to Glomerella leaf spot(GLS)caused by Colletotrichum fructicola(Cf).Analysis revealed that,upon Cf infection,35S::Md IAA24 plants exhibited enhanced superoxide dismutase(SOD)and peroxidase(POD)activity,as well as a greater amount of glutathione(reduced form)and ascorbic acid accumulation,resulting in less H_(2)O_(2)and superoxide anion(O_(2)^(-))in apple leaves.Furthermore,35S::Md IAA24 plants produced more protocatechuic acid,proanthocyanidins B1,proanthocyanidins B2 and chlorogenic acid when infected with Cf.Following Cf infection,35S::Md IAA24 plants presented lower levels of IAA and jasmonic acid(JA),but higher levels of salicylic acid(SA),along with the expression of related genes.The overexpression of Md IAA24 was observed to enhance the activity of chitinase andβ-1,3-glucanase in Cfinfected leaves.The results indicated the ability of Md IAA24 to regulate the crosstalk between IAA,JA and SA,and to improve reactive oxygen species(ROS)scavenging and defense-related enzymes activity.This jointly contributed to GLS resistance in apple.

High-temperature stress suppresses allene oxide cyclase 2 and causes male sterility in cotton by disrupting jasmonic acid signaling

Cotton(Gossypium spp.) yield is reduced by stress. In this study, high temperature(HT) suppressed the expression of the jasmonic acid(JA) biosynthesis gene allene oxide cyclase 2(GhAOC2), reducing JA content and causing male sterility in the cotton HT-sensitive line H05. Anther sterility was reversed by exogenous application of methyl jasmonate(MeJA) to early buds. To elucidate the role of GhAOC2 in JA biosynthesis and identify its putative contribution to the anther response to HT, we created gene knockout cotton plants using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Ghaoc2 mutant lines showed male-sterile flowers with reduced JA content in the anthers at the tetrad stage(TS), tapetum degradation stage(TDS), and anther dehiscence stage(ADS). Exogenous application of MeJA to early mutant buds(containing TS or TDS anthers) rescued the sterile pollen and indehiscent anther phenotypes, while ROS signals were reduced in ADS anthers. We propose that HT downregulates the expression of GhAOC2 in anthers, reducing JA biosynthesis and causing excessive ROS accumulation in anthers, leading to male sterility. These findings suggest exogenous JA application as a strategy for increasing male fertility in cotton under HT.

Jasmonic acid-mediated stress responses share the molecular mechanism underlying male sterility induced by deficiency of ZmMs33 in maize

Plant male reproduction is a fine-tuned developmental process that is susceptible to stressful environments and influences crop grain yields.Phytohormone signaling functions in control of plant normal growth and development as well as in response to external stresses,but the interaction or crosstalk among phytohormone signaling,stress response,and male reproduction in plants remains poorly understood.Cross-species comparison among 514 stress-response transcriptomic libraries revealed that ms33-6038,a genic male sterile mutant deficient in the Zm Ms33/Zm GPAT6 gene,displayed an excessive drought stress-like transcriptional reprogramming in anthers triggered mainly by disturbed jasmonic acid(JA)homeostasis.An increased level of JA appeared in Zm Ms33-deficient anthers at both meiotic and postmeiotic stages and activated genes involved in JA biosynthesis and signaling as well as genes functioning in JA-mediated drought response.Excessive accumulation of JA elevated expression level of a gene encoding a WRKY transcription factor that activated the Zm Ms33 promoter.These findings reveal a feedback loop of Zm Ms33-JA-WRKY-Zm Ms33 in controlling male sterility and JA-mediated stress response in maize,shedding light on the crosstalk of stress response and male sterility mediated by phytohormone homeostasis and signaling.

Basal defense is enhanced in a wheat cultivar resistant to Fusarium head blight

Fusarium head blight(FHB),mainly caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum,is one of the most destructive wheat diseases.Besides directly affecting the yield,the mycotoxin residing in the kernel greatly threatens the health of humans and livestock.Xinong 979(XN979)is a widely cultivated wheat elite with high yield and FHB resistance.However,its resistance mechanism remains unclear.In this study,we studied the expression of genes involved in plant defense in XN979 by comparative transcriptomics.We found that the FHB resistance in XN979 consists of two lines of defense.The first line of defense,which is constitutive,is knitted via the enhanced basal expression of lignin and jasmonic acid(JA)biosynthesis genes.The second line of defense,which is induced upon F.graminearum infection,is contributed by the limited suppression of photosynthesis and the struggle of biotic stress-responding genes.Meanwhile,the effective defense in XN979 leads to an inhibition of fungal gene expression,especially in the early infection stage.The formation of the FHB resistance in XN979 may coincide with the breeding strategies,such as selecting high grain yield and lodging resistance traits.This study will facilitate our understanding of wheat-F.graminearum interaction and is insightful for breeding FHB-resistant wheat.

Rice gene OsUGT75A regulates seedling emergence under deep-sowing conditions

Poor seedling emergence is a challenge for direct seeding of rice under deep-sowing field conditions.Here we reveal that UDP-glucosyltransferase OsUGT75A promotes rice seedling emergence under deepsowing conditions by increasing shoot length.Expression of OsUGT75A was higher in the middle regions of the shoot and in shoots under deep-sowing conditions.Levels of free abscisic acid(ABA)and jasmonates(JA)were higher in shoots of OsUGT75A mutants than in those of wild-type plants,and OsUGT75A mutants were more sensitive to ABA and JA treatments.Reduced shoot length was attributed to higher ABA INSENSITIVE 3(OsABI3)expression and lower JASMONATE-ZIM domain protein(OsJAZ)expression in shoots.Shoot extension by OsUGT75A is achieved mainly by promotion of cell elongation.An elite haplotype of OsUGT75A associated with increased shoot length was identified among indica rice accessions.OsUGT75A acts to increase seedling emergence under deep-sowing conditions.

R2R3-type Lo MYB21 affects jasmonate-regulated development and dehiscence of anthers in lily(Lilium oriental hybrids)

Lilies are widely cultivated for cut flowers,but their large anthers carry a considerable amount of colored pollen that is dispersed easily.Studying the molecular mechanism of anther development and dehiscence could help solve this problem.LoMYB21,encoding a putative R2R3v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog(MYB)transcription factor,was identified from oriental lilies(Lilium‘Siberia’).Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that LoMYB21 was mainly expressed in the anther,filament and stigma and had high expression during the late stages of lily anther development.LoMYB21 had transactivation activity and was located in the nucleus through yeast one-hybrid assays and transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana.Suppression of LoMYB21 by virus-induced gene silencing(VIGS)in Lilium‘Siberia’led to anther indehiscence and reduced the expression of genes related to Jasmonate acid(JA)biosynthesis and signal transduction.Induction of LoMYB21 in DEX::LoMYB21 transgenic Arabidopsis caused procumbent inflorescences that became infertile,accompanied by higher expression of JA biosynthetic and signaling genes.These results demonstrated that JA content and signaling were abnormal in silenced lily and transgenic LoMYB21 Arabidopsis,which affected anther development.Our study indicated that LoMYB21 could regulate lily anther dehiscence through JA biosynthesis and signaling during the late stages of anther development.

JA-mediated MYC2/LOX/AOS feedback loop regulates osmotic stress response in tea plant

Osmotic stress caused by low-temperature,drought and salinity was a prevalent abiotic stress in plant that severely inhibited plant development and agricultural yield,particularly in tea plant.Jasmonic acid(JA)is an important phytohormone involving in plant stress.However,underlying molecular mechanisms of JA modulated osmotic stress response remains unclear.In this study,high concentration of mannitol induced JA accumulation and increase of peroxidase activity in tea plant.Integrated transcriptome mined a JA signaling master,MYC2 transcription factor is shown as a hub regulator that induced by mannitol,expression of which positively correlated with JA biosynthetic genes(LOX and AOS)and peroxidase genes(PER).CsMYC2 was determined as a nuclei-localized transcription activator,furthermore,ProteinDNA interaction analysis indicated that CsMYC2 was positive regulator that activated the transcription of CsLOX7,CsAOS2,CsPER1 and CsPER3via bound with their promoters,respectively.Suppression of CsMYC2 expression resulted in a reduced JA content and peroxidase activity and osmotic stress tolerance of tea plant.Overexpression of CsMYC2 in Arabidopsis improved JA content,peroxidase activity and plants tolerance against mannitol stress.Together,we proposed a positive feedback loop mediated by CsMYC2,CsLOX7 and CsAOS2 which constituted to increase the tolerance of osmotic stress through fine-tuning the accumulation of JA levels and increase of POD activity in tea plant.

Plant Chemical Defenses against Insect Herbivores—Using theWild Tobacco as a Model

The Nicotiana genus, commonly known as tobacco, holds significant importance as a crucial economic crop. Confrontedwith an abundance of herbivorous insects that pose a substantial threat to yield, tobacco has developed adiverse and sophisticated array of mechanisms, establishing itself as a model of plant ecological defense. Thisreview provides a concise overview of the current understanding of tobacco’s defense strategies against herbivores.Direct defenses, exemplified by its well-known tactic of secreting the alkaloid nicotine, serve as a potent toxinagainst a broad spectrum of herbivorous pests. Moreover, in response to herbivore attacks, tobacco enhancesthe discharge of volatile compounds, harnessing an indirect strategy that attracts the predators of the herbivores.The delicate balance between defense and growth leads to the initiation of most defense strategies only after aherbivore attack. Among plant hormones, notably jasmonic acid (JA), play central roles in coordinating thesedefense processes. JA signaling interacts with other plant hormone signaling pathways to facilitate the extensivetranscriptional and metabolic adjustments in plants following herbivore assault. By shedding light on these ecologicaldefense strategies, this review emphasizes not only tobacco’s remarkable adaptability in its natural habitatbut also offers insights beneficial for enhancing the resilience of current crops.

Abscisic acid and jasmonic acid are involved in drought priming-induced tolerance to drought in wheat

Drought stress is a limiting factor for wheat production and food security.Drought priming has been shown to increase drought tolerance in wheat.However,the underlying mechanisms are unknown.In the present study,the genes encoding the biosynthesis and metabolism of abscisic acid(ABA)and jasmonic acid(JA),as well as genes involved in the ABA and JA signaling pathways were up-regulated by drought priming.Endogenous concentrations of JA and ABA increased following drought priming.The interplay between JA and ABA in plant responses to drought priming was further investigated using inhibitors of ABA and JA biosynthesis.Application of fluridone(FLU)or nordihydroguaiaretic acid(NDGA)to primed plants resulted in lower chlorophyll-fluorescence parameters and activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase,and higher cell membrane damage,compared to primed plants(PD)under drought stress.NDGA+ABA,but not FLU+JA,restored priming-induced tolerance,as indicated by a finding of no significant difference from PD under drought stress.Under drought priming,NDGA induced the suppression of ABA accumulation,while FLU did not affect JA accumulation.These results were consistent with the expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of ABA and JA.They suggest that ABA and JA are required for priming-induced drought tolerance in wheat,with JA acting upstream of ABA.

The laccase gene Gh Lac1 modulates fiber initiation and elongation by coordinating jasmonic acid and flavonoid metabolism

Cotton fibers are single cells originating in the epidermis of cotton ovules,and serve as the largest natural fiber source for the textile industry.In theory,all epidermal cells have the potential to develop into fibers,but only 15%–25%of epidermis cells develop into commercially viable lint fibers.We previously showed that Gh Lac1 participates in cotton defense against biotic stress.Here we report that Gh Lac1 also has a role in cotton fiber development.Gh Lac1 RNAi lines in cotton showed increased differentiation of fiber initials from epidermis and shortened fiber length,resulting in unchanged lint percentage.Suppression of Gh Lac1 expression led to constitutively hyperaccumulated jasmonic acid(JA)and flavonoids in ovules and fiber cells.In vitro ovule culture experiments confirmed the distinct roles of JA and flavonoids in fiber initiation and elongation,and showed that fiber development is spatially regulated by these chemicals:the increased fiber initiation in Gh Lac1 RNAi lines is caused by hyperaccumulated JA and rutin content during the fiber initiation stage and shortened fiber length is caused by constitutively increased JA and naringenin content during the fiber elongation stage.

Regulatory effect of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate supplementation on ergosterol production in Hericium erinaceus mycelia

We evaluated the biomass and ergosterol content of Hericium erinaceus mycelium, and extracellular enzyme activities in H. erinaceus liquid culture following salicylic acid（SA） and methyl jasmonic acid（Me JA）supplementation. The optimal SA concentration was100 lmoláL-1, where the highest ergosterol content of 2.33 mgág-1was obtained following 6-day cultivation with100 lmoláL-1SA supplementation, and which was significantly higher than the unsupplemented control（p ／ 0.01）. Following 4-day supplementation with50 lmoláL-1Me JA, the highest ergosterol content obtained was 1.988 mgág-1, which was 25.8 % higher than the unsupplemented control. Our data indicate that SA and Me JA supplementation improves ergosterol content in H.erinaceus mycelium.

Extracellular and Intracellular Calcium both Involved in the Jasmonic Acid Induced Calcium Mobilization in Arabidopsis thaliana

The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the role of intracellular and extracellular Ca2＋ and calmodulin （CAM） in jasmonic acid （JA） signaling. The laser scanning microscopy was used to detect the changes of [Ca2＋]cyt of Arabidopsis thaliana leaf cells which pretreated with different types of calcium channel blocker. Moreover, the expression of VSP, one of JA response genes, was also investigated after pretreated with the above blocker and antagonist of CaM. The results showed that extracellular and intracellular calcium both involved in the JA-induced Ca2＋ mobilization, and then Ca2＋ exerted its functions through activating the CaM or CaM related proteins. The apoplast calcium influx and the calcium release from the calcium stores are both involved in the JA-induced calcium mobilization, then the JA-induced Ca2＋ transmited the JA signal through CaM or CaM related proteins, and regulated the JA responsive genes.

Induction of Hypersensitive Response and Nonhost Resistance by a Cladosporium fulvum Elicitor CfHNNI1 is Dose-Dependent and Negatively Regulated by Salicylic Acid

Nonhost resistance is a phenomenon that enables plants to protect themselves against the majority of potential pathogens, and thus has a great potential for application in plant protection. We recently found that CfHNNI1 （for Cladosporium fulvum host and nonhost plant necrosis inducer 1） is an inducer of plant hypersensitive response （HR） and nonhost resistance. In this study, its functional mechanism was analyzed. CfHNN11 was a single copy gene in C. fulvum genome. The functional ORF of the CfHNN11 cDNA was ATG3-TAG780, which showed homology with genes encoding bZIP transcription factors. The functional ORF included in frame an inner one ATG273-TAG780, which was sufficient to induce HR in plants. CfIINN11 induced plant HR in a dose-dependent manner. CfHNNIl-induced necrosis in NahG transgenic tomato plants was significantly stronger than that in their wild type controls. However, the necrosis in Nr and defl tomato mutants was similar to that in their corresponding wild type plants. These data demonstrate that induction of HR and nonhost resistance by CfHNNI1 is negatively regulated by salicylic acid signalling pathway but independent of ethylene and jasmonic acid signalling pathways.

Effects of Wounding and Exogenous Jasmonic Acid on the Peroxidation of Membrane Lipid in Pea Seedlings Leaves

The changes of malondialdehyde （MDA）, H2O2, and O2^7 content, or the activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, catalase （CAT）, ascrobate peroxidase （APX）, peroxidase （POD）, phenylalanine ammonia lyase （PAL）, and polyphenol oxidase （PPO） in pea seedlings （Pisum sativum L.） under wounding and treatment of exogenous jasmonic acid （JA） were investigated. The results showed that the activities of both phenylalanine ammonia lyase （PAL） and polyphenol oxidase （PPO） were significantly increased by wounding and application of JA. The metabolism of reaction oxidative species （ROS） was enhanced, especially O2^7 and H2O2 appeared to rapidly increase. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, APX and POD were also increased. Treatment of JA of 1 or 10 μmol L^-1 could effectively induce plant defense response, and thus decrease the peroxidation of cell membrane lipid. However, high concentration of JA （100 μmol L^-1） resulted in unbalance of metabolism of ROS and promoted the peroxidation of cell membrane lipid. We thus suggested that JA, under the suitable concentration, could induce defense response of pea seedlings to wounding.

Effects of Exogenous Jasmonic Acid on Concentrations of Direct-Defense Chemicals and Expression of Related Genes in Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) Corn (Zea mays)

Bt corn is one of the top three large-scale commercialized transgenic crops around the world. It is increasingly clear that the complementary durable approaches for pest control, which combine the endogenous defense of the crop with the introduced foreign genes, are promising alternative strategies for pest resistance management and the next generation of insect-resistant transgenic crops. In the present study, we tested the inducible effects of exogenous jasmonic acid （JA） on direct-defense chemical content, Bt protein concentration, and related gene expression in the leaves of Bt corn cultivar 34B24 and non-Bt cultivar 34B23 by chemical analysis, ELISA, and RT-PCR. The results show that the expression of LOX, PR-2a, MPI, and PR-I genes in the treated leaf （the first leaf） was promoted by exogenous JA both in 34B24 and 34B23. As compared with the control, the concentration of DIMBOA in the treated leaf was significantly increased by 63 and 18% for 34B24 and 34B23, respectively. The total phenolic acid was also increased by 24 and 12% for both 34B24 and 34B23. The Bt protein content of 34B24 in the treated leaf was increased by 13% but decreased significantly by 27% in the second leaf. The induced response of 34B24 was in a systemic way and was much stronger than that of 34B23. Those findings indicated that there is a synergistic interaction between Bt gene and internally induced chemical defense system triggered by externally applied JA in Bt corn.

GhWRKY33 negatively regulates jasmonate-mediated plant defense to Verticillium dahliae

Verticillium wilt,caused by Verticillium dahliae,seriously restricts the yield and quality improvement of cotton.Previous studies have revealed the involvement of WRKY members in plant defense against V.dahliae,but the underlying mechanisms involved need to be further elucidated.Here,we demonstrated that Gossypium hirsutum WRKY DNA-binding protein 33(GhWRKY33) functions as a negative regulator in plant defense against V.dahliae.GhWRKY33 expression is induced rapidly by V.dahliae and methyl jasmonate,and overexpression of GhWRKY33 reduces plant tolerance to V.dahliae in Arabidopsis.Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that expression of several JA-associated genes was significantly repressed in GhWRKY33 overexpressing transgenic plants.Yeast one-hybrid analysis revealed that GhWRKY33 may repress the transcription of both AtERF1 and GhERF2 through its binding to their promoters.Protein-protein interaction analysis suggested that GhWRKY33 interacts with G.hirsutum JASMONATE ZIM-domain protein 3(GhJAZ3).Similarly,overexpression of GhJAZ3 also decreases plant tolerance to V.dahliae.Furthermore,GhJAZ3 acts synergistically with GhWRKY33 to suppress both AtERF1 and GhERF2 expression.Our results imply that GhWRKY33 may negatively regulate plant tolerance to V.dahliae via the JA-mediated signaling pathway.

Trade-offs between the accumulation of cuticular wax and jasmonic acid-mediated herbivory resistance in maize

Plants have evolved complex physical and chemical defense systems that allow them to withstand herbivory infestation.Composed of a complex mixture of very-long-chain fatty acids(VLCFAs)and their derivatives,cuticular wax constitutes the first physical line of defense against herbivores.Here,we report the function of Glossy 8(ZmGL8),which encodes a 3-ketoacyl reductase belonging to the fatty acid elongase complex,in orchestrating wax production and jasmonic acid(JA)-mediated defenses against herbivores in maize(Zea mays).The mutation of GL8 enhanced chemical defenses by activating the JA-dependent pathway.We observed a trade-off between wax accumulation and JA levels across maize glossy mutants and 24 globally collected maize inbred lines.In addition,we demonstrated that mutants defective in cuticular wax biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana and maize exhibit enhanced chemical defenses.Comprehensive transcriptomic and lipidomic analyses indicated that the gl8 mutant confers chemical resistance to herbivores by remodeling VLCFA-related lipid metabolism and subsequent JA biosynthesis and signaling.These results suggest that VLCFA-related lipid metabolism has a critical role in regulating the trade-offs between cuticular wax and JA-mediated chemical defenses.

MdbHLH162 connects the gibberellin and jasmonic acid signals to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple

Anthocyanins are secondary metabolites induced by environmental stimuli and developmental signals.The positive regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis have been reported,whereas the anthocyanin repressors have been neglected.Although the signal transduction pathways of gibberellin(GA)and jasmonic acid(JA)and their regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis have been investigated,the cross-talk between GA and JA and the antagonistic mechanism of regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis remain to be investigated.In this study,we identified the anthocyanin repressor MdbHLH162 in apple and revealed its molecular mechanism of regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis by integrating the GA and JA signals.MdbHLH162 exerted passive repression by interacting with MdbHLH3 and MdbHLH33,which are two recognized positive regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis.MdbHLH162 negatively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis by disrupting the formation of the anthocyanin-activated MdMYB1-MdbHLH3/33complexes and weakening transcriptional activation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic genes MdDFR and MdUF3GT by MdbHLH3 and MdbHLH33.The GA repressor MdRGL2a antagonized MdbHLH162-mediated inhibition of anthocyanins by sequestering MdbHLH162 from the MdbHLH162-MdbHLH3/33 complex.The JA repressors MdJAZ1 and MdJAZ2 interfered with the antagonistic regulation of MdbHLH162 by MdRGL2a by titrating the formation of the MdRGL2a-MdbHLH162 complex.Our findings reveal that MdbHLH162 integrates the GA and JA signals to negatively regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis.This study provides new information for discovering more anthocyanin biosynthesis repressors and explores the cross-talk between hormone signals.

VPD modifies CO_(2)fertilization effect on tomato plants via abscisic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathways

Atmospheric CO_(2)concentration is elevated globally,which has“CO_(2)fertilization effects”and potentially improves plant photosynthesis,yield,and productivity.Despite the beneficial effect of CO_(2)fertilization being modulated by vapor pressure deficit(VPD),the underlying mechanism is highly uncertain.In the present study,the potential roles of hormones in determining CO_(2)fertilization effects under contrasting high and low VPD conditions were investigated by integrated physiological and transcriptomic analyses.Beneficial CO_(2)fertilization effects were offset under high VPD conditions and were constrained by plant water stress and photosynthetic CO_(2)utilization.High VPD induced a large passive water driving force,which disrupted the water balance and consequently caused plant water deficit.Leaf water potential,turgor pressure,and hydraulic conductance declined under high VPD stress.The physiological evidence combined with transcriptomic analyses demonstrated that abscisic acid(ABA)and jasmonic acid(JA)potentially acted as drought-signaling molecules in response to high VPD stress.Increased foliar ABA and JA content triggered stomatal closure to prevent excessive water loss under high VPD stress,which simultaneously increased the diffusion resistance for CO_(2)uptake from atmosphere to leaf intercellular space.High VPD also significantly increased mesophyll resistance for CO_(2)transport from stomatal cavity to fixation site inside chloroplast.The chloroplast“sink”CO_(2)availability was constrained by stomatal and mesophyll resistance under high VPD stress,despite the atmospheric“source”CO_(2)concentration being elevated.Thus,ABA-and JA-mediated drought-resistant mechanisms potentially modified the beneficial effect of CO_(2)fertilization on photosynthesis,plant growth,and yield productivity.This study provides valuable information for improving the utilization efficiency of CO_(2)fertilization and a better understanding of the physiological processes.

A study on JA-and BTH-induced resistance of Rosa rugosa‘Plena’to powdery mildew(Sphaerotheca pannosa)

Different concentrations of jasmonic acid(JA)and benzothiadiazole(BTH) were sprayed on 2-year-old Rosa rugosa‘Plena’ seedlings. The induced resistance of JA and BTH to Sphaerotheca pannosa(Wallr.) and the changes of their related physiological indices were investigated. Results showed that JA and BTH treatments had inhibitory impacts on S. pannosa infection. The optimal concentration of JA and BTH was 0.5 mmol/L for the disease-resistance induction of the leaves, its inductive effect was up to 66.36% for BTH and 54.49% for JA. Our results confirmed that exogenous JA and BTH significantly improved R. rugose ‘Plena’ resistance to S. pannosa. When treated with JA and BTH, activities of the three defense enzymes(POD, PPO, and PAL) increased significantly.Contents of total phenolics, flavonoids, and lignin also increased significantly. It is inferred from these results that exogenous JA and BTH could improve the resistance of R.rugose ‘Plena’ to S. pannosa through enhancing activities of the defensive enzymes and accumulation of secondary metabolites in the leaves.