Dear Editor,

Phytohormones play vital roles in plant survival under incessant abiotic and biotic stresses. On perception of a pathogen invasion, plants quickly activate a complex network of phytohormone signals to defend against it [1]. The general opinion is that salicylic acid (SA) mediates plant resistance to biotrophic and hemi-biotrophic pathogens and jasmonic acid (JA) acts against necrotroph [2, 3]. A recent report showed that SA but not JA signaling is necessary for potato defense against Alternaria solani (A. solani), a necrotrophic pathogen causing leaf chlorosis and tissue necrosis [4]. This suggested that JA is ineffective during A. solani infection. In addition to SA, crosstalk between JA and other phytohormones has been reported widely. Thus, the function of the dialogue between JA and other phytohormones in response to necrotroph infection should be re-evaluated in potato plants. However, there is a lack of understanding about the in vivo responses of JA and other phytohormones. Here, we report the antagonistic roles of JA and abscisic acid (ABA) in response to A. solani infection in potato plants.

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