Институт
биоорганической химии

Potato systemin, originally discovered as an octadecapeptide regulator of plant stress responses to herbivore attack, is shown for the first time to possess protective potential against viral pathogens. Under controlled conditions, plants of the commercial potato cultivar "Indigo" were inoculated with the most devastating economically important Potato virus Y (strains PVY^O and PVY^NTN). Foliar spraying of plants with an aqueous solution of potato systemin StPep I, obtained via solid-phase peptide synthesis, led to a substantial reduction in viral accumulation. These findings indicate that the synthetic potato systemin holds strong promise for development as a signaling biostimulant to enhance potato resistance against viral pathogens. The results are published in Biomolecules.