Mode of Action of Jasmonates

This article is a Commentary on Gimenez‐Ibanez et al., 213: 1378–1392.

This article is a Commentary on Major et al., 215: 1533–1547.

Two cDNAs encoding allene oxide cyclases (PpAOC1, PpAOC2), key enzymes in the formation of jasmonic acid (JA) and its precursor (9S,13S)‐12‐oxo‐phytodienoic acid (cis‐(+)‐OPDA), were isolated from the moss Physcomitrella patens.Recombinant PpAOC1 and PpAOC2 show substrate specificity against the allene oxide derived from 13‐hydroperoxy linolenic acid (13‐HPOTE); PpAOC2 also shows substrate specificity against the allene oxide derived from 12‐hydroperoxy arachidonic acid (12‐HPETE).In protonema and gametophores the occurrence of cis‐(+)‐OPDA, but neither JA nor the isoleucine conjugate of JA nor that of cis‐(+)‐OPDA was detected.Targeted knockout mutants for PpAOC1 and for PpAOC2 were generated, while double mutants could not be obtained. The ΔPpAOC1 and ΔPpAOC2 mutants showed reduced fertility, aberrant sporophyte morphology and interrupted sporogenesis.

The cpr5‐1 Arabidopsis thaliana mutant exhibits constitutive activation of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET) signalling pathways and displays enhanced tolerance of heat stress (HS).cpr5‐1 crossed with jar1‐1 (a JA‐amino acid synthetase) was compromised in basal thermotolerance, as were the mutants opr3 (mutated in OPDA reductase3) and coi1‐1 (affected in an E3 ubiquitin ligase F‐box; a key JA‐signalling component). In addition, heating wild‐type Arabidopsis led to the accumulation of a range of jasmonates: JA, 12‐oxophytodienoic acid (OPDA) and a JA‐isoleucine (JA‐Ile) conjugate. Exogenous application of methyl jasmonate protected wild‐type Arabidopsis from HS.Ethylene was rapidly produced during HS, with levels being modulated by both JA and SA. By contrast, the ethylene mutant ein2‐1 conferred greater thermotolerance.These data suggest that JA acts with SA, conferring basal thermotolerance while ET may act to promote cell death.

In potato 12‐hydroxyjasmonic acid (12‐OH‐JA) is a tuber‐inducing compound. Here, it is demonstrated that 12‐OH‐JA, as well as its sulfated and glucosylated derivatives, are constituents of various organs of many plant species. All accumulate differentially and usually to much higher concentrations than jasmonic acid (JA).In wounded tomato leaves, 12‐OH‐JA and its sulfated, as well as glucosylated, derivative accumulate after JA, and their diminished accumulation in wounded leaves of the JA‐deficient mutants spr2 and acx1 and also a JA‐deficient 35S::AOCantisense line suggest their JA‐dependent formation.To elucidate how signaling properties of JA/JAME (jasmonic acid methyl ester) are affected by hydroxylation and sulfation, germination and root growth were recorded in the presence of the different jasmonates, indicating that 12‐OH‐JA and 12‐hydroxyjasmonic acid sulfate (12‐HSO4‐JA) were not bioactive. Expression analyses for 29 genes showed that expression of wound‐inducible genes such as those coding for PROTEINASE INHIBITOR2, POLYPHENOL OXIDASE, THREONINE DEAMINASE or ARGINASE was induced by JAME and less induced or even down‐regulated by 12‐OH‐JA and 12‐HSO4‐JA. Almost all genes coding for enzymes in JA biosynthesis were up‐regulated by JAME but down‐regulated by 12‐OH‐JA and 12‐HSO4‐JA.The data suggest that wound‐induced metabolic conversion of JA/JAME into 12‐OH‐JA alters expression pattern of genes including a switch off in JA signaling for a subset of genes.