Publikationen - Molekulare Signalverarbeitung

Small-molecule phytohormones exert control over plant growth, development, and stress responses by coordinating the patterns of gene expression within and between cells. Increasing evidence indicates that currently recognized plant hormones are part of a larger group of regulatory metabolites that have acquired signaling properties during the evolution of land plants. This rich assortment of chemical signals reflects the tremendous diversity of plant secondary metabolism, which offers evolutionary solutions to the daunting challenges of sessility and other unique aspects of plant biology. A major gap in our current understanding of plant regulatory metabolites is the lack of insight into the direct targets of these compounds. Here, we illustrate the blurred distinction between classical phytohormones and other bioactive metabolites by highlighting the major scientific advances that transformed the view of jasmonate from an interesting floral scent to a potent transcriptional regulator. Lessons from jasmonate research generally apply to other phytohormones and thus may help provide a broad understanding of regulatory metabolite–protein interactions. In providing a framework that links small-molecule diversity to transcriptional plasticity, we hope to stimulate future research to explore the evolution, functions, and mechanisms of perception of a broad range of plant regulatory metabolites.

Jasmonates are oxygenated lipids (oxylipins) that control defense gene expression in response to cell damage in plants. How mobile are these potent mediators within tissues? Exploiting a series of 13-lipoxygenase (13-lox) mutants in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that displays impaired jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis in specific cell types and using JA-inducible reporters, we mapped the extent of the transport of endogenous jasmonates across the plant vegetative growth phase. In seedlings, we found that jasmonate (or JA precursors) could translocate axially from wounded shoots to unwounded roots in a LOX2-dependent manner. Grafting experiments with the wild type and JA-deficient mutants confirmed shoot-to-root oxylipin transport. Next, we used rosettes to investigate radial cell-to-cell transport of jasmonates. After finding that the LOX6 protein localized to xylem contact cells was not wound inducible, we used the lox234 triple mutant to genetically isolate LOX6 as the only JA precursor-producing LOX in the plant. When a leaf of this mutant was wounded, the JA reporter gene was expressed in distal leaves. Leaf sectioning showed that JA reporter expression extended from contact cells throughout the vascular bundle and into extravascular cells, revealing a radial movement of jasmonates. Our results add a crucial element to a growing picture of how the distal wound response is regulated in rosettes, showing that both axial (shoot-to-root) and radial (cell-to-cell) transport of oxylipins plays a major role in the wound response. The strategies developed herein provide unique tools with which to identify intercellular jasmonate transport routes.

Coffea arabica is susceptible to several pests and diseases, some of which affect the leaves and roots. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is the main defence mechanism activated in plants in response to pathogen attack. Here, we report the effects of benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid-s-methyl ester (BTH), a SAR chemical inducer, on the expression profile of C. arabica. Two cDNA libraries were constructed from the mRNA isolated from leaves and embryonic roots to create 1587 nonredundant expressed sequence tags (ESTs). We developed a cDNA microarray containing 1506 ESTs from the leaves and embryonic roots, and 48 NBS-LRR (nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat) gene fragments derived from 2 specific genomic libraries. Competitive hybridization between untreated and BTH-treated leaves resulted in 55 genes that were significantly overexpressed and 16 genes that were significantly underexpressed. In the roots, 37 and 42 genes were over and underexpressed, respectively. A general shift in metabolism from housekeeping to defence occurred in the leaves and roots after BTH treatment. We observed a systemic increase in pathogenesis-related protein synthesis, in the oxidative burst, and in the cell wall strengthening processes. Moreover, responses in the roots and leaves varied significantly.