Role of chitinase and β-1,3 glucanase elicitation in the Trichoderma harzianum induced systemic resistance in Capsicum

gene families are found in all plants which express them inducibly as PR proteins and constitutively in tissues vulnerable to pathogen attack (9,10). Several lines of evidence indicate that chitinases play a distinct role in plant defense by attacking chitin, a β-1-4-linked polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucasamine and a major component of fungal cell wall, and β-1,3 glucanases by hydrolysing β-1,3 glucans- which form the matrix in which chitin is embedded. Synergistic antifungal relationship exists between chitinase and β-1-3 glucanase (2,8). The role of these enzymes in plant defense against pathogens is thus multi-faceted. The systemic induction of two PR proteins, chitinase and β-1-3 glucanase by Trichoderma harzianum is reported in this paper.