The cantharidin-induced oxidative burst in tobacco BY-2 cell suspension cultures

Summary The in vivo induction of H₂O₂ production was tested on tobacco cell suspension cultures (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bright Yellow-2). The measurement of H₂O₂ was based on the oxidation of 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzensulfonic acid by endogenous peroxidases and spectrophotometric detection after reaction with 4-aminoanti-pyrine. The phosphatase inhibitor cantharidin induced a transient increase in H₂O₂ synthesis. The timing of the H₂O₂ production, the level of induction by cantharidin and the background H₂O₂ production were dependent on the tobacco cell concentration used. A concentration curve of cantharidin revealed saturating kinetics for the H₂O₂ detection (E₅₀=46 to 70 M, E_max=101 to 128 mol/h·g fresh weight). An inhibitor study with the tobacco BY-2 cells showed high inhibitions of the H₂O₂ induction with the flavin analogues diphenylene iodonium (I₅₀=1.26M) and acridine orange and with membrane-permeative thiol reagents (N-ethyl maleimide, N-pyrene maleimide, iodoacetate); whereas the nonpermeative thiol reagentp-chloromercuribenzoic acid was ineffective. Therefore, the induction of H₂O₂ production with phosphatase inhibitors (cantharidin) showed comparable properties to the elicitor-induced oxidative-burst response in other plant cells.Abbreviations AcOr acridine orange - AOS active-oxygen species - BY-2 Bright Yellow-2 - pCMBS p-chloromercuribenzoic acid - DHBS 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid - DMSO dimethylsulfoxide - DPI diphenylene iodonium - EtOH ethanol - H₂O₂ hydrogen peroxide - HRP horseradish peroxidase - MS Murashige and Skoog - NEM N-ethyl maleimide - NPM N-pyrene maleimide - O ₂ ^– superoxide - SOD superoxide dismutase     

Cadmium and zinc-mediated oxidative burst in tobacco BY-2 cell suspension cultures

Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) constitutes an important first reaction under many stress conditions in plants. We demonstrate that Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Bright Yellow 2 (TBY-2) cells in suspension cultures, generate superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide upon treatment with cadmium and zinc. Addition of catalase and N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) decreased the level of H₂O₂, whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD) induced a slight increase of the H₂O₂ production. The effects of catalase, DDC and SOD on the heavy metal-induced ROS production indicate that it occurs outside of the cells, and that at least part of the hydrogen peroxide is produced by dismutation of the superoxide radical (O₂ ^·−). The effect of pretreatment of the cell cultures with commonly used mammalian NADPH oxidase inhibitors was also tested. Strong inhibitions of cadmium and zinc-mediated ROS production were obtained with the flavoprotein inhibitors—diphenylene iodonium (DPI) and quinacrine and with an inhibitor of b-type cytochromes—imidazol. Membrane permeable-N-ethyl maleimide (NEM) and iodoacetate, and membrane non-permeable thiol reagents—para-chloromercuribenzoic acid (pCMBS) also inhibited the ROS production. These results suggested that the enzyme responsible for cadmium and zinc-induced ROS production in tobacco cells contains a flavocytochrome. They also show the importance of intra- and extracellular thiol groups in the observed stress reaction. The induction of ROS production with heavy metals showed properties comparable to the elicitor-induced oxidative burst in other plant cells.     

Salicylic acid is a systemic signal and an inducer of pathogenesis-related proteins in virus-infected tobacco.

Systemic induction of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins in tobacco, which occurs during the hypersensitive response to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), may be caused by a minimum 10-fold systemic increase in endogenous levels of salicylic acid (SA). This rise in SA parallels PR-1 protein induction and occurs in TMV-resistant Xanthi-nc tobacco carrying the N gene, but not in TMV-susceptible (nn) tobacco. By feeding SA to excised leaves of Xanthi-nc (NN) tobacco, we have shown that the observed increase in endogenous SA levels is sufficient for the systemic induction of PR-1 proteins. TMV infection became systemic and Xanthi-nc plants failed to accumulate PR-1 proteins at 32 degrees C. This loss of hypersensitive response at high temperature was associated with an inability to accumulate SA. However, spraying leaves with SA induced PR-1 proteins at both 24 and 32 degrees C. SA is most likely exported from the primary site of infection to the uninfected tissues. A computer model predicts that SA should move rapidly in phloem. When leaves of Xanthi-nc tobacco were excised 24 hr after TMV inoculation and exudates from the cut petioles were collected, the increase in endogenous SA in TMV-inoculated leaves paralleled SA levels in exudates. Exudation and leaf accumulation of SA were proportional to TMV concentration and were higher in light than in darkness. Different components of TMV were compared for their ability to induce SA accumulation and exudation: three different aggregation states of coat protein failed to induce SA, but unencapsidated viral RNA elicited SA accumulation in leaves and phloem. These results further support the hypothesis that SA acts as an endogenous signal that triggers local and systemic induction of PR-1 proteins and, possibly, some components of systemic acquired resistance in NN tobacco.     

Evaluation of the oxidative burst in suspension cell culture of Phaseolus vulgaris

Plants respond to the attack of pathogens with the oxidative burst, a production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this work a cell culture suspension of Phaseolus vulgaris was used to investigate the oxidative burst triggered by a conidia suspension of different races of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. As a defence response of the cells a two-phase peak was observed with all used races of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, varying only in the produced amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Findings with additives such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) and catalase gave rise to the conclusion that more superoxide radicals were produced than be detectable with Amplex Red as hydrogen peroxide. It is assumed that the conversion of the superoxide radical is spontaneous and not driven via a cell-derived superoxide dismutase. The addition of low-molecular cell wall components (ergosterol, glucosamine, galactosamine) showed clearly that compounds like this act as elicitors and thus are involved in triggering the burst. Furthermore, an evaluation of the metabolizing capacities of hydrogen peroxide of the suspension culture cells revealed the enormous capacity of the cells to detoxify this ROS.     

Aromatic monoamine-induced immediate oxidative burst leading to an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in tobacco suspension culture

Aromatic monoamines may contribute to both chemical and physical protection of plants. Addition of phenylethylamine (PEA) and benzylamine to tobacco suspension culture (cell line BY-2) induced a very rapid and transient generation of two active oxygen species (AOS), H2O2 and superoxide anion, both detected with chemiluminescence. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy revealed that hydroxy radicals are also produced. With laser-scanning confocal microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and microplate fluorescence reading, intracellular H2O2 production was detected using dichlorofluorescin diacetate as a fluorescent probe. Following AOS production, cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) of the tobacco cells, monitored with luminescence of transgenic aequorin, increased and attained to a peak level 12 s after PEA addition. The PEA-induced increase in [Ca2+]c was inhibited by a Ca2+ chelator, Ca2+ antagonists and AOS scavengers, suggesting that PEA-induced AOS triggered a Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane.     

Independent pathways leading to apoptotic cell death, oxidative burst and defense gene expression in response to elicitin in tobacco cell suspension culture.

We characterized pharmacologically the hypersensitive cell death of tobacco BY-2 cells that followed treatments with Escherichia coli preparations of INF1, the major secreted elicitin of the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans. INF1 elicitin treatments resulted in fragmentation and 180 bp laddering of tobacco DNA as early as 3 h post-treatment. INF1 elicitin also induced rapid accumulation of H2O2 typical of oxidative burst, and the expression of defense genes such as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene at 1 h and 3 h after elicitin treatment, respectively. To investigate the involvement of the oxidative burst and/or the expression of defense genes in the signal transduction pathways leading to hypersensitive cell death, we analyzed the effect of several chemical inhibitors of signal transduction pathways on the various responses. The results indicated that (a) the cell death required serine proteases, Ca2+ and protein kinases, (b) the oxidative burst was involved in Ca2+ and protein kinase mediated pathways, but elicitin-induced AOS was neither necessary nor sufficient for cell death and PAL gene expression, and (c) the signaling pathway of PAL gene expression required protein kinases. These results suggest that the three signal transduction pathways leading to cell death, oxidative burst and expression of defense genes branch in the early stages that follow elicitin recognition by tobacco cells.     

Phenylethylamine-induced generation of reactive oxygen species and ascorbate free radicals in tobacco suspension culture: mechanism for oxidative burst mediating Ca2+ influx

In the previous paper [Kawano et al. (2000a) Plant Cell Physiol. 41: 1251], we demonstrated that addition of phenylethylamine (PEA) and benzylamine can induce an immediate and transient burst of active oxygen species (AOS) in tobacco suspension culture. Detected AOS include H2O2, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals. Use of several inhibitors suggested the presence of monoamine oxidase-like H2O2-generating activity in the cellular soluble fraction. It was also suggested that peroxidase(s) or copper amine oxidase(s) are involved in the extracellular superoxide production as a consequence of H2O2 production. Since more than 85% of the PEA-dependent AOS generating activity was localized in the extracellular space (extracellular fluid + cell wall), extracellularly secreted enzymes, probably peroxidases, may largely contribute to the oxidative burst induced by PEA. The PEA-induced AOS generation was also observed in the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) reaction mixture, supporting the hypothesis that peroxidases catalyze the oxidation of PEA leading to AOS generation. In addition to AOS production, we observed that PEA induced an increase in monodehydroascorbate radicals (MDA) in the cell suspension culture and in HRP reaction mixture using electron spin resonance spectroscopy and the newly invented MDA reductase-coupled method. Here we report that MDA production is an indicator of peroxidase-mediated generation of PEA radical species in tobacco suspension culture.     

Identification of the bacterial superoxide dismutase (SodM) as plant-inducible elicitor of an oxidative burst reaction in tobacco cell suspension cultures

Three of the most abundant proteins (OmpW, MopB and SodM) of the extracellular proteome of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris were analysed in a luminol-based oxidative burst assay to identify novel pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP). Tobacco cell suspension cultures were used as a model system to monitor elicitor induced plant defence reaction. The candidate proteins were isolated from two-dimensional gels prior to application to the oxidative burst assay. The superoxide dismutase (SodM) was the only isolated protein that could elicit a notable hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in tobacco cell cultures indicating the initiation of plant defence. An alignment of the SodM sequences from X. campestris pv. campestris and Escherichia coli revealed 55.7% identity and 29% of the sequence were substitutions for amino acids with similar physico-chemical properties. By using a commercially available purified E. coli derived SodM preparation, it was possible to show that the amino acid sequence of this protein is responsible for the elicitation of an oxidative burst reaction in the tobacco cell culture model. This suggests that the bacterial superoxide dismutase is a novel pathogen-associated molecular pattern. The minimal elicitor active sequence, however, is still elusive.     

Pyp3 PTPase acts as a mitotic inducer in fission yeast.

The p34cdc2 M-phase kinase is regulated by inhibitory phosphorylation of Tyr15, largely through the actions of the p107wee1 tyrosine kinase and p80cdc25 protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase). In this study we demonstrate that a second PTPase, encoded by pyp3, also contributes to tyrosyl dephosphorylation of p34cdc2. Pyp3 was identified as a high copy suppressor of a cdc25- mutation. The pyp3 gene encodes a 33 kDa PTPase that is more closely related to human PTP1B and fission yeast pyp1 and pyp2 PTPases than to cdc25. Pyp3 does not share an essential overlapping function with pyp1 or pyp2. We demonstrate that disruption of pyp3 causes a mitotic delay that is greatly exacerbated in cells that are partially defective for cdc25 function and that pyp3 function is essential in cdc25-disruption wee1- strains. Pyp3 PTPase effectively dephosphorylates and activates the p34cdc2 kinase in vitro. We conclude that the pyp3 PTPase acts cooperatively with p80cdc25 to dephosphorylate Tyr15 of p34cdc2.     

Ethylene is required for elicitin-induced oxidative burst but not for cell death induction in tobacco cell suspension cultures

The signal compound ethylene and its relationships with oxidative burst and cell death were analyzed in cultured tobacco cells treated with the proteinaceous elicitor quercinin. Quercinin belongs to the protein family of elicitins and was isolated from the soil-born oak pathogen Phytophthora quercina. It was shown to induce a dose-dependent oxidative burst in tobacco cell culture in concentrations from 0.05 to 0.5 nM, and subsequently, cell death. The characteristics of quercinin-induced cell death included both membrane damage and DNA fragmentation in tobacco cell culture.

At higher quercinin concentrations (2 nM), H₂O₂ formation and ethylene biosynthesis were inhibited. Ethylene at low concentrations proved to be necessary for induction and maintenance of H₂O₂ production in tobacco cells treated with quercinin. It was demonstrated that external addition of inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis such as -amino-oxy-acetic acid (AOA) and CoCl₂ also decreased or even inhibited the quercinin-induced oxidative burst, but did not influence cell death induction. These results demonstrate evidence for a requirement of the plant hormone ethylene for the onset of the quercinin-induced oxidative burst.     

Kojic acid, a secondary metabolite from Aspergillus sp., acts as an inducer of macrophage activation

KA (kojic acid) is a secondary metabolite isolated from Aspergillus fungi that has demonstrated skin whitening, antioxidant and antitumour properties among others. However, limited information is available regarding its effects on macrophages, the major cell involved in cell defence. The aim of the present study was to analyse whether KA affects functional properties related to macrophage activation, such as phagocytosis and spreading ability over a substrate. Treatment of resident macrophages with 50 μg/ml KA for 1 h induced both morphological and physiological alterations in cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed enhanced cell spreading and an increase in cell surface exposure, associated with a rearrangement of microtubules, actin filaments and intermediate filaments. KA also potentiated phagocytosis by macrophages, as demonstrated by the increase in phagocytic activity towards yeast, when compared to untreated cells. KA increased the production of ROS (reactive oxygen species), but not NO (nitric oxide) production. Three tests were used to assess cell viability; MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide], NR (neutral red) uptake and PI (propidium iodide) exclusion test, which showed that macrophages maintain their viability following KA treatment. Results indicate that KA can modulate macrophage activation through cytoskeleton rearrangement, increase cell surface exposure, enhance the phagocytic process and ROS production. The study demonstrates a new role for KA as a macrophage activator.     

Salicylic acid activates a 48-kD MAP kinase in tobacco.

The involvement of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation in the salicylic acid (SA) signal transduction pathway leading to pathogenesis-related gene induction has previously been demonstrated using kinase and phosphatase inhibitors. Here, we show that in tobacco suspension cells, SA induced a rapid and transient activation of a 48-kD kinase that uses myelin basic protein as a substrate. This kinase is called the p48 SIP kinase (for SA-Induced Protein kinase). Biologically active analogs of SA, which induce pathogenesis-related genes and enhanced resistance, also activated this kinase, whereas inactive analogs did not. Phosphorylation of a tyrosine residue(s) in the SIP kinase was associated with its activation. The SIP kinase was purified to homogeneity from SA-treated tobacco suspension culture cells. The purified SIP kinase is strongly phosphorylated on a tyrosine residue(s), and treatment with either protein tyrosine or serine/threonine phosphatases abolished its activity. Using primers corresponding to the sequences of internal tryptic peptides, we cloned the SIP kinase gene. Analysis of the SIP kinase sequence indicates that it belongs to the MAP kinase family and that it is distinct from the other plant MAP kinases previously implicated in stress responses, suggesting that different members of the MAP kinase family are activated by different stresses.     

Indole-3-acetic acid-induced oxidative burst and an increase in cytosolic calcium ion concentration in rice suspension culture

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is the major natural auxin involved in the regulation of a variety of growth and developmental processes such as division, elongation, and polarity determination in growing plant cells. It has been shown that dividing and/or elongating plant cells accompanies the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a number of reports have suggested that hormonal actions can be mediated by ROS through ROS-mediated opening of ion channels. Here, we surveyed the link between the action of IAA, oxidative burst, and calcium channel activation in a transgenic cells of rice expressing aequorin in the cytosol. Application of IAA to the cells induced a rapid and transient generation of superoxide which was followed by a transient increase in cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_c). The IAA-induced [Ca²⁺]_c elevation was inhibited by Ca²⁺ channel blockers and a Ca²⁺ chelator. Furthermore, ROS scavengers effectively blocked the action of IAA on [Ca²⁺]_c elevation.     

Production of dammarenediol-II triterpene in a cell suspension culture of transgenic tobacco

Key message

Dammarenediol-II is biologically active tetracyclic triterpenoid, which is basic compound of ginsenoside saponin. Here, we established the dammarenediol-II production via a cell suspension culture of transgenic tobacco overexpressing PgDDS.

Abstract

Dammarenediol-II synthase catalyzes the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene to dammarenediol-II, which is the basic triterpene skeleton in dammarene-type saponin (ginsenosides) in Panax ginseng. Dammarenediol-II is a useful candidate both for pharmacologically active triterpenes and as a defense compound in plants. Dammarenediol-II is present in the roots of P. ginseng in trace amounts because it is an intermediate product in triterpene biosynthesis. In this work, we established the production of dammarenediol-II via cell suspension culture of transgenic tobacco. The dammarenediol-II synthase gene (PgDDS) isolated from P. ginseng was introduced into the Nicotiana tobacum genome under the control of 35S promoter by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Accumulation of dammarenediol-II in transgenic tobacco plants occurred in an organ-specific manner (roots > stems > leaves > flower buds), and transgenic line 14 (T14) exhibited a high amount (157.8 μg g^?1 DW) of dammarenediol-II in the roots. Dammarenediol-II production in transgenic tobacco plants resulted in reduced phytosterol (β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol) contents. A cell suspension culture was established as a shake flask culture of a callus derived from root segments of transgenic (T14) plants. The amount of dammarenediol-II production in the cell suspension reached 573 μg g^?1 dry weight after 3 weeks of culture, which is equivalent to a culture volume of 5.2 mg dammarenediol-II per liter. Conclusively, the production of dammarenediol-II in a cell suspension culture of transgenic tobacco can be applied to the large-scale production of this compound and utilized as a source of pharmacologically active medicinal materials.     

Properties of peroxidases from tobacco cell suspension culture

An enzyme preparation from suspension cultured tobacco cells oxidized IAA only in the presence of added cofactors, Mn²⁺ and 2,4-dichlorophenol, and showed two pH optima for the oxidation at pH 4·5 and 5·5. Effects of various phenolic compounds and metal ions on IAA oxidase activity were examined. The properties of seven peroxidase fractions separated by column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and CM-Sephadex, were compared. The peroxidases were different in relative activity toward o-dianisidine and guaiacol. All the peroxidases catalysed IAA oxidation in the presence of added cofactors. The pH optima for guaiacol peroxidation were very similar among the seven isozymes, but the optima for IAA oxidation were different. The anionic and neutral fractions showed pH optima near pH 5·5, but the cationic isozymes showed optima near pH 4·5. With guaiacol as hydrogen donor, an anionic peroxidase (A-1) and a cationic peroxidase (C-4) were very different in H₂O₂ concentration requirements for their activity. Peroxidase A-1 was active at a wide range of H₂O₂ concentrations, while peroxidase C-4 showed a more restricted H₂O₂ requirement. Gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel studies indicated that the three cationic peroxidases have the same molecular weight.     

Interconversion of the salicylic acid signal and its glucoside in tobacco

Salicylic acid (SA) has been proposed to play a role in the induction of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins and systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in tobacco. Since SA is rapidly converted to salicylic acid β-glucoside (SAG) in tobacco, we have attempted to assess the role of SAG in pathogenesis by application of chemically synthesized SAG to tobacco leaves. SAG was as active as SA in induction of PR-1 gene expression. This induction was preceded by a transient release of SA, which occurred in the extracellular spaces. The existence of a mechanism that releases SA from SAG suggests a possible role for SAG in SAR.     

Salicylic acid modulates ozone-induced hypersensitive cell death in tobacco plants

Ozone-tolerant Bel B and ozone-sensitive Bel W3 tobacco cultivars were subjected to acute ozone fumigation (200 p.p.b. for 3 h) and the subcellular localization of H₂O₂ was then studied. H₂O₂ accumulated on the cell walls and plasma membrane of both cultivars but the accumulation pattern differed greatly. H₂O₂ production was high in both cultivars immediately after fumigation, but, in the tolerant Bel B cultivar, after 7 h was only detected in some spongy cells adjacent to epidermal cells. Instead, in the sensitive Bel W3 cultivar, accumulation was still abundant in the cell walls of palisade, spongy and epidermal cells at this time. Significant changes in apoplastic ascorbate pool were noted in both cultivars in the first hours after fumigation. As the reduced ascorbate content remained unchanged, the marked increase in total ascorbate must have originated from the striking increase in dehydroascorbate, particularly in the ozone-sensitive Bel W3. Exposure of plants to ozone resulted in a marked transient increase in both free and conjugated salicylic acid (SA) as well as an increase in the activity of benzoic acid 2-hydroxylase which catalyses SA biosynthesis. SA induction differed greatly in the two cultivars, in that: (1) SA accumulation was far greater in the ozone-sensitive Bel W3 cv. and (2) the maximum SA peak was delayed in Bel W3 and observed only 7 h after fumigation ended. These results suggest that a high SA content, as documented in the ozone-sensitive Bel W3 cultivar, could trigger the production of ROS with subsequent SA-mediated cell-death.