Herbivory-induced signalling in plants: perception and action

Plants and herbivores have been interacting for millions of years. Over time, plants have evolved mechanisms to defend against herbivore attacks. Herbivore-challenged plants reconfigure their metabolism to produce compounds that are toxic, repellant or anti-digestive for the herbivores. Some compounds are volatile signals that attract the predators of herbivores. All these responses are tightly regulated by a signalling network triggered by the plant's perception machinery. Several compounds that specifically elicit herbivory-induced responses in plants have been isolated from herbivore oral secretions and oviposition fluids. Elicitor perception is rapidly followed by cell membrane depolarization, calcium influx and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation; plants also elevate the concentrations of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and modulate phytohormone levels accordingly. In addition to these reactions in the herbivore-attacked regions of a leaf, defence responses are also mounted in unattacked parts of the attacked leaf and as well in unattacked leaves. In this review, we summarize recent progress in understanding how plants recognize herbivory, the involvement of several important signalling pathways that mediate the responses to herbivore attack and the signals that transduce local into systemic responses.     

Elicitor(s) in Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) Causing the Japanese Rice Plant (Oryza sativa L.) to Induce the Ovicidal Substance,Benzyl Benzoate

We elucidate the mechanism for inducing the production of ovicidal benzyl benzoate by Japonica rice varieties to kill eggs of the whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), lying in the rice plant. Even when subjected to physical damage by a needle or damage with water, the rice plant produced no benzyl benzoate. However, significant benzyl benzoate was produced when the plant was damaged with a methanol extract or homogenate of S. furcifera. The extract of the male did not induce the production of benzyl benzoate, but that of the female did. We concluded from these results that benzyl benzoate was induced by some elicitor(s) in the female of S. furcifera.     

Elicitor-induced hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:tyramine hydroxycinnamoyltransferase in plant cell suspension cultures

Treatment of Nicotiana glutinosa L. cell suspension cultures with chitosan results in the co-induction of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, 4-eoumarate:CoA ligase, tyrosine decarboxylase and tyramine hydroxycinnamoyltransferase, all involved in the biosynthesis of hydroxycinnamoyltyramines. The highest enzyme activities were observed around 12 h after addition of 0.8 to 1 mg chitosan per g fresh weight of cells. No hydroxycinnamoyltyramines could be detected by TLC or HPLC of extracts made from non-treated or elicited cells. [¹⁴C]-Tyramine was incorporated into insoluble polymeric material at a higher rate in elicitor-treated than in non-treated cells of N. glutinosa. Tyramine hydroxycinnamoyltransferase could be induced in suspension cultured cells of Eschscholtzia califortnca Cham, but not in cells of Phaseolus vulgaris L. or Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don by addition of a yeast elicitor to the growth medium.     

诱导子对雷公藤不定根生长和次生代谢产物含量的影响

为探讨真菌诱导子以及硝酸银等非生物诱导子对雷公藤不定根生长及次生代谢产物含量的影响。以雷公藤不定根为材料,通过向培养基中添加不同种类的真菌诱导子以及硝酸银等非生物诱导子,采用高效液相色谱检测不定根中雷公藤甲素和生物碱含量。结果表明:各种真菌诱导子不影响不定根的生长,但对次生代谢产物含量有显著影响,其中,苹果炭疽和柿子炭疽诱导子的加入不仅使不定根中雷公藤甲素的含量分别提高了2.24和1.93倍,生物碱的含量也各提高了2.02和2.07倍。苹果炭疽诱导子浓度为50μg/m L时比较适合雷公藤不定根生长及雷公藤甲素和生物碱的积累。硝酸银抑制不定根的生长和生物碱的积累,但促进雷公藤甲素的积累。硝酸银浓度为25μmol/L时雷公藤甲素含量为对照的1.71倍。茉莉酸甲酯浓度为50μmol/L时,不定根增长量为对照的1.04倍,雷公藤甲素和生物碱含量分别为对照的1.64倍和2.12倍。酵母提取物浓度为2 g/L时,雷公藤甲素含量为对照的1.48倍。表明培养基中添加硝酸银和酵母提取物对不定根中雷公藤甲素的合成具有明显的促进作用,苹果炭疽和茉莉酸甲酯的协同作用既能促进雷公藤甲素的合成又能促进雷公藤生物碱的合成。     

Molecular cloning and expression analyses of a new gene encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase from Taxus × media

A new full-length cDNA encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (designated as TmHMGS, GenBank Accession No. AY644708), which catalyses the condensation of acetyl CoA and acetoacetyl CoA to form 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA as an early step in the taxol biosynthetic pathway, was isolated from young leaves of Taxus × media by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) for the first time. The full-length cDNA of TmHMGS contained a 1431 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a deduced protein of 476 amino acid residues. The deduced protein had an isoelectric point of 5.23 and a calculated molecular mass of about 53 kDa. Amino acid sequence comparison analysis showed that TmHMGS had high similarity with a number of HMGSs ranging from Schizosaccharomyces pombe to humans, with much higher identity with other HMGSs from plants than those from yeast and humans. Phylogenic analysis showed that TmHMGS had closest relationship with HMGS from Pinus sylvestris. Tissue expression pattern analysis showed that TmHMGS expressed in needles and stems at similar level, but no expression could be detected in roots. Expression of TmHMGS was all induced by under different elicitors such as silver nitrate, ammonium ceric sulphate and methyl jasmonate, revealed that TmHMGS was an elicitor-responsive gene.     

NO和茉莉酸甲酯对黄芩悬浮细胞生长及黄芩苷合成的影响

以硝普钠(sodium nitroprusside,SNP)为一氧化氮(nitric oxide,NO)的供体,向黄芩(Scutellaria baicalensis)悬浮培养细胞系中添加SNP和茉莉酸甲酯(methyl jasmonate,MJ),考察这两种诱导子在不同的添加时间、添加浓度及混合配比使用对黄芩悬浮细胞系生长和黄芩苷含量的影响。研究结果表明：低浓度的外源NO有利于细胞的生长,但对黄芩苷积累无作用,而MJ有利于黄芩苷的合成,但抑制细胞生长,且两者的适用浓度范围和添加时间存在差异。在细胞培养初期(0天)添加0.05 mmol·L~(-1)SNP,而在细胞生长对数中期(8天)添加10μmol·L~(-1)的MJ,细胞鲜重可达到对照的1.2倍,黄芩苷总量达到对照的2.96倍。     

Amino Acid Composition of Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus Coat Protein and Sequence Determination of Its Tryptic Peptides

Amino acid composition of the CGMMV* coat protein was determined to be as follows: Asp₂₀, Thr₁₀, Ser₂₄, Glu₁₀. Pro₆, Gly₉, Ala₂₁, Val₇, Ile₇, Leu₁₈, Tyr₄, Phe₉, Lys₄, His₁, Arg₈, Trp₂. No terminal α-amino group was detected by dinitrophenylation method. The carboxyl-terminus was found to be serine by hydrazinolysis of the protein and digestion with carboxypeptidase A.

For sequence analysis of the coat protein, tryptic digestion was accomplished at pH 8.0 resulting in ten soluble and several insoluble peptides at pH 4.5. The amino acids contained in soluble peptides accounted for 91 out of 160 residues in the whole protein. The amino acid sequences of ten soluble peptides were determined.

From the similarities of amino acid sequence of the peptides to those of TMV* protein, CGMMV was assumed to be a strain of TMV group.     

Depolymerization of Hyaluronic Acid by D-Fructose 6-Phosphate

Depolymerization of hyaluronic acid obtained from Streptococcus zooepidemicus by D-fructose 6-phosphate was investigated for characterization of reducing sugar-mediated degradation of biopolymers under physiological conditions. The extent of depolymerization was monitored by the decrease of viscosity of a reaction mixture containing 1.0% hyaluronic acid, D-fructose 6-phosphate, and 1.0 × 10^?2 mM of Cu²⁺ in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. It was found that the depolymerization of hyaluronic acid was dependent on the concentration of the reducing sugar and was specifically accelerated by the presence of Cu²⁺. The reaction was found to be significantly inhibited by catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), 1,2-dihy­ droxybenzene 3,5-disulfonic acid (Tiron), and chelating agents such as EDTA and diethylene triamine penta­ acetic acid (DETAPAC), although the inhibition by SOD was low. Almost the same depolymerization rates were observed in hyaluronic acid preparations of different molecular weight (1.1 × 10⁶, 8.8 × 10⁵, and 6.8 × 10⁵). The rates, however, were different for hyaluronic acids obtained from S. zooepidemicus, rooster comb, and umbilical cord. It was concluded that depolymerization of the polysaccharide was caused by active oxygen species generated by the autoxidation of D-fructose 6-phosphate in the presence of Cu²⁺, in a mechanism similar to that previously reported for the degradation of DNA and inactivation of virus in vitro.     

Importance of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in taxol biosynthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taxus chinensis</Emphasis> cultures

The roles of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) in paclitaxel production were investigated in cell suspension cultures of Taxus chinensis. In the normal cultures, the trend of G6PDH activity was similar to that of cell growth. Addition of glutamate increased G6PDH activity, while dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) decreased G6PDH activity. In elicitor-treated cultures, cell growth was depressed, while G6PDH activity and taxol production were enhanced compared with the control. Glutamate recovered the depression of cell growth, and resulted in further increase in G6PDH activity and taxol production. Contrarily, DHEA exacerbated the depression of cell growth, and decreased G6PDH activity and taxol production induced by fungal elicítor. The results indicated that G6PDH played a critic role of taxol production by affecting cell viability.