Carbohydrates and resistance to Phytophthora infestans in potato plants

Plants generally deal with biotic or abiotic stresses by altering components as for example cell wall constituents and metabolites. Infection by Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight, constitutes a stress condition for the plants and they react to it with changes arising in their metabolism depending on the resistance level of the plants. The present work compares two potato hybrids differing in their level of horizontal resistance to late blight. Carbohydrate content in stems and leaves of infected and uninfected plants was determined by HPLC. Some carbohydrates accumulated in the stems of the resistant hybrid infected by P. infestans, whereas they remained unchanged in the susceptible hybrid. On the other hand, in the leaves, these carbohydrates accumulated only in the infected susceptible hybrid.