AsES (Acremonium strictum Elicitor and Subtilisin) is a novel extracellular elicitor protein produced by the
avirulent isolate SS71 of the opportunist strawberry fungal pathogen A. strictum. Here we describe the
activity of AsES in the plant-pathogen system Arabidopsis thaliana–Botrytis cinerea. We show that AsES
renders A. thaliana plants resistant to the necrotrophic pathogen B. cinerea, both locally and systemically
and the defense response observed is dose-dependent. Systemic, but not local resistance is dependent on
the length of exposure to AsES. The germination of the spores in vitro was not inhibited by AsES, implying
that protection to B. cinerea is due to the induction of the plant defenses. These results were further
supported by the findings that AsES differentially affects mutants impaired in the response to salicylic
acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene, suggesting that AsES triggers the defense response through these three
signaling pathways