Publikationen - Molekulare Signalverarbeitung

Salinity is a constraint limiting plant growth and productivity of crops throughout the world. Understanding the mechanism underlying plant response to salinity provides new insights into the improvement of salt tolerance-crops of importance. In the present study, we report on the responses of twenty cultivars of tomato. We have clustered genotypes into scale classes according to their response to increased NaCl levels. Three local tomato genotypes, representative of different saline scale classes, were selected for further investigation. During early (0 h, 6 h and 12 h) and later (7 days) stages of the response to salt treatment, ion concentrations (Na + , K +  and Ca 2+ ), proline content, enzyme activities (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guiacol peroxidase) were recorded. qPCR analysis of candidate genes WRKY (8, 31and 39), ERF (9, 16 and 80), LeNHX (1, 3 and 4) and HKT (class I) were performed. A high K + , Ca 2 + and proline accumulation as well as a decrease of Na +  concentration-mediated salt tolerance. Concomitant with a pattern of high-antioxidant enzyme activities, tolerant genotypes also displayed differential patterns of gene expression during the response to salt stress.

Jasmonates (JAs) are plant hormones that integrate external stress stimuli with physiological responses. (+)-7-iso-JA-L-Ile is the natural JA ligand of COI1, a component of a known JA receptor. The upstream JA biosynthetic precursor cis-(+)-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (cis-(+)-OPDA) has been reported to act independently of COI1 as an essential signal in several stress-induced and developmental processes. Wound-induced increases in the endogenous levels of JA/JA-Ile are accompanied by two to tenfold increases in the concentration of OPDA, but its means of perception and metabolism are unknown. To screen for putative OPDA metabolites, vegetative tissues of flowering Arabidopsis thaliana were extracted with 25% aqueous methanol (v/v), purified by single-step reversed-phase polymer-based solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by high throughput mass spectrometry. This enabled the detection and quantitation of a low abundant OPDA analog of the biologically active (+)-7-iso-JA-L-Ile in plant tissue samples. Levels of the newly identified compound and the related phytohormones JA, JA-Ile and cis-(+)-OPDA were monitored in wounded leaves of flowering Arabidopsis lines (Col-0 and Ws) and compared to the levels observed in Arabidopsis mutants deficient in the biosynthesis of JA (dde2-2, opr3) and JA-Ile (jar1). The observed cis-(+)-OPDA-Ile levels varied widely, raising questions concerning its role in Arabidopsis stress responses.