Methyl jasmonate and transpiration in barley

Transpirational water loss from barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var Morrison) leaves was determined gravimetrically. In contrast to the known effects of other growth regulating compounds, it is shown that methyl jasmonate—used either as an airborne vapor or in the transpiration stream—is not acting as a primary short-term modulator of stomatal behavior in this species.     

Calmodulin-binding drugs affect responses to cytokinin, auxin, and gibberellic Acid

Trifluoperazine, a phenothiazine tranquilizer, and tetracaine, a local anesthetic, have been found to inhibit a variety of plant hormone responses at concentrations compatible with their known inhibition of Ca²⁺-calmod-ulin-dependent enzyme activities. Among these responses are cytokinin-dependent betacyanin synthesis and increase in fresh weight in Amaranthus tricolor cotyledons, auxin-dependent increase in length of wheat coleoptile segments and gibberellic acid-dependent induction of α-amylase synthesis in barley aleurone layers. The reversibility of some of these inhibitory effects has been demonstrated, indicating that, up to a point, a generalized membrane destruction can be ruled out. The evidence, taken in conjunction with numerous examples from the literature showing calcium involvement in the action of all of the plant hormones, support a unifying theory of hormone action.     

Abscisic acid and gibberellic acid as factors in the translocation of auxin

The effects of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA)on the translocation of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T)in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Stringless Greenpd) seedlingswere determined. ¹⁴C-labeled 2,4,5-T was injected in the stemtissue at the cotyledonary node in 1-µl amounts alongwith the AB or GA. ABA caused an enhancement of 2,4,5-T translocationto the lower hypocotyl and roots and promoted a decrease inthe accumulation of 2,4,5-T in the young expanding shoots andprimary leaves. GA promoted the accumulation of 2,4,5-T in youngshoots. The enhanced basipetal translocation of 2,4,5-T wasmeasurable after a few hours of treatment and was partiallyeffective even in the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitorcychloheximide. The GA effects on 2,4,5-T translocation werenullified by cycloheximide and were also noted after only afew hours of treatment. ¹Journal Article 2618 of the Agricultural Experiment Station,Oklahoma State University. (Received October 1, 1973; )     

Interaction of coumarin, gibberellic acid and abscisic acid in the translocation of auxin in bean seedlings

The effects of coumarin on the translocation of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyaceticacid (2,4,5-T) in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. StringlessGreenpod) seedlings was determined. ¹⁴C-labeled 2,4,5-T wasinjected in the stem tissue at the cotyledonary node along withthe coumarin or the coumarin was added to the nutrient solutionprior to, or at the time of, 2,4,5-T treatment. The amount oftranslocation of radioactive 2,4,5-T to plant parts was thendetermined at various times after treatment. An immediate effectof coumarin was to enhance acropetal 2,4,5-T translocation tothe young shoots. This effect occurred at low 2,4,5-T treatmentlevels and appeared to be specific for 2,4,5-T since sucrosetranslocation was not affected. Prolonged treatment with coumarininhibited acropetal and basipetal 2,4,5-T translocation in amanner similar to prolonged treatment with abscisic acid (ABA).Gibberellin A₃ (GA) reversed the inhibitory effects of coumarinand ABA on 2,4,5-T acropetal translocation. ¹ Journal article 3244 of the Agricultural Experiment Station,Oklahoma State University. (Received December 6, 1976; )     

Methyl jasmonate signaling and signal crosstalk between methyl jasmonate and abscisic acid in guard cells

Plants tightly control stomatal aperture in response to various environmental changes. A drought-inducible phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA), triggers stomatal closure and ABA signaling pathway in guard cells has been well studied. Similar to ABA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induces stomatal closure in various plant species but MeJA signaling pathway is still far from clear. Recently we found that Arabidopsis calcium dependent protein kinase CPK6 functions as a positive regulator in guard cell MeJA signaling and provided new insights into cytosolic Ca²⁺-dependent MeJA signaling. Here we discuss the MeJA signaling and also signal crosstalk between MeJA and ABA pathways in guard cells.Key words: methyl jasmonate, abscisic acid, guard cell, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, calciumStomata, which are formed by pairs of specialized cells called guard cells, control gas exchanges and transpirational water loss. Guard cells can shrink and swell in response to various physiological stimuli, resulting in stomatal closing and opening.^1,2 To optimize growth under various environmental conditions, plants have developed fine-tuned signal pathway in guard cells. Abscisic acid (ABA) is synthesized under drought stress and induces stomatal closure to reduce transpirational water loss.² ABA signal transduction in guard cells has been widely studied. ABA induces increases of various second messengers such as cytosolic Ca²⁺, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) in guard cells. These early signal components finally evoke ion efflux through plasma membrane ion channels, resulting in reduction of guard cell turgor pressure.Jasmonates are plant hormones synthesized via the octadecanoid pathway and regulate various physiological processes in plants such as pollen maturation, tendril coiling, senescence and responses to wounding and pathogen attacks.³ Similar to ABA, jasmonates also trigger stomatal closure and the response is conserved among various plant species including Arabidopsis thaliana,⁴ Hordeum vulgare,⁵ Commelina benghalensis,⁶ Vicia faba,⁷ Nicotiana glauca,⁸ Paphiopedilum Supersuk⁹ and Paphiopedilum tonsum.⁹ A volatile methyl ester of jasmonic acid (JA), methy jasmonate (MeJA), has been widely used for studying jasmonate signaling pathway. To date, pharmacological and reverse genetic approaches have revealed many important signal components involved in MeJA-induced stomatal closure and suggest a signal crosstalk between MeJA and ABA in guard cells. In this review, we mainly focus on the three important second messengers, ROS, NO and cytosolic Ca²⁺ and discuss recent advance about MeJA signaling and signal interaction between MeJA and ABA in guard cells.     

Methyl jasmonate and Echinothrips americanus regulate coumarin accumulation in leaves of Matricaria chamomilla

Matricaria chamomilla synthesize (Z)- and (E)-2-ß-d-glucopyranosyloxy-4-methoxy cinnamic acid (GMCA), the biosynthetic precursors of herniarin. During leaf development the content of (E)-GMCA decreased and no changes were found in the content of other compounds evaluating in the experiments. Methyl jasmonate elicits an increase in (E)-GMCA and herniarin content in young growing leaves as well as mature and senescing leaves 48 h after treatment. In contrast, attack by the thrips, Echinothrips americanus, causes increase not only in GMCAs and herniarin content but also in the amount of coumarin, umbelliferone. The results confirmed that coumarin-like metabolites can be considered as plant defence compounds in biotic and abiotic stress conditions.     

Control of carbohydrase formation by gibberellic acid in barley endosperm

α-Amylase, limit dextrinase and α-glucosidase were induced by gibberellic acid in barley grain from which the embryos had been excised. The responses to different concentrations of gibberellic acid were similar for the three carbohydrases. However α-glucosidase activity increased before the other two enzymes, and a low level of α-glucosidase was found in ungerminated grain. Experiments with cycloheximide and density-labelling in deuterium oxide suggest that the observed increases in activity are the result of de novo protein synthesis. The induction of these enzymes was reduced by pre-incubation in actinomycin D.     

Methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid elicitation induces ginsenosides accumulation, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant in suspension culture Panax ginseng roots in bioreactors

The effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA) on changes of the activities of major antioxidant enzymes, superoxide anion accumulation (O₂ ⁻), ascorbate, total glutathione (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and ginsenoside accumulation were investigated in ginseng roots (Panax ginseng L.) in 4 l (working volume) air lift bioreactors. Single treatment of 200 μM MJ and SA to P. ginseng roots enhanced ginsenoside accumulation compared to the control and harvested 3, 5, 7 and 9 days after treatment. MJ and SA treatment induced an oxidative stress in P. ginseng roots, as shown by an increase in lipid peroxidation due to rise in O₂ ⁻ accumulation. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was inhibited in MJ-treated roots, while the activities of monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), SOD, guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were induced in SA-treated roots. A strong decrease in the activity of catalase (CAT) was obtained in both MJ- and SA-treated roots. Activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione S transferase (GST) were higher in MJ than SA while the contents of reduced ascorbate (ASC), redox state (ASC/(ASC+DHA)) and TG were higher in SA- than MJ-treated roots while oxidized ascorbate (DHA) decreased in both cases. The result of these analyses suggests that roots are better protected against the O₂ ⁻ stress, thus mitigating MJ and SA stress. The information obtained in this work is useful for efficient large-scale production of ginsenoside by plant-root cultures.     

Control of alpha-amylase mRNA accumulation by gibberellic Acid and calcium in barley aleurone layers

Pulse-labeling of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv Himalaya) aleurone layers incubated for 13 hours in 2.5 micromolar gibberellic acid (GA₃) with or without 5 millimolar CaCl₂ shows that α-amylase isozymes 3 and 4 are not synthesized in vivo in the absence of Ca²⁺. A cDNA clone for α-amylase was isolated and used to measure α-amylase mRNA levels in aleurone layers incubated in the presence and absence of Ca²⁺. No difference was observed in α-amylase mRNA levels between layers incubated for 12 hours in 2.5 micromolar GA₃ with 5 millimolar CaCl₂ and layers incubated in GA₃ alone. RNA isolated from layers incubated for 12 hours in GA₃ with and without Ca²⁺ was translated in vitro and was found to produce the same complement of translation products regardless of the presence of Ca²⁺ in the incubation medium. Immunoprecipitation of translation products showed that the RNA for α-amylase synthesized in Ca²⁺-deprived aleurone layers was translatable. Ca²⁺ is required for the synthesis of α-amylase isozymes 3 and 4 at a step after mRNA accumulation and processing.