Biostimulation of Tomato Plants (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em> L.) US-ing Fragmented Extracellular DNA from <em>Clavibacter michiganensis</em> subsp. <em>Michiganensis</em>

Extracellular DNA (eDNA) has gained attention as a danger signal between organisms because of the ecological implications of this mechanism and its great potential as a biological modulator in agriculture. Self-DNA has been evaluated earlier as a DAMP and non-self-DNA as a PAMP, both as plant elicitors. Here we show the biostimulant effect of eDNA extracted from the bacterial phytopathogen Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. Michiganensis foliarly applied one onto tomato plants in different concentra-tions (50, 100 and 150 µg mL-1). Monitoring morphology of the plants, spectrophoto-metric determinations and RT-qPCR assays showed that plant growth, immune system and secondary metabolism activation as well as differential expression of defense genes, showed a positive response to some of the eDNA treatments in a dose-dependent manner. This work represents a step forward in the development of effective and more sustainable agricultural technology in crop production.