Brassinosteroid negatively regulates jasmonate inhibition of root growth in Arabidopsis

Abstract

Jasmonate (JA) inhibits root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. The mutation in COI1 that plays a central role in JA signaling displays insensitivity to JA inhibition of root growth. To dissect JA signaling pathway, we recently isolated one mutant named psc1, which partially suppresses coi1 insensitivity to JA inhibition of root growth. As we identified the PSC1 gene as an allele of DWF4 that encodes a key enzyme in brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis, we hypothesized and demonstrated that BR is involved in JA signaling and negatively regulates JA inhibition of root growth. In our Plant Physiology paper, we analyzed effects of psc1 or exogenous BR on the inhibition of root growth by JA. Here we show that treatment with brassinazole (Brz), a BR biosynthesis inhibitor, increased JA sensitivity in both coi1-2 and wild type, which further confirms that BR negatively regulates JA inhibition of root growth. Since effects of psc1, Brz, and exogenous BR on JA inhibition of root growth were mild, we suggests that BR negatively finely regulates JA inhibition of root growth in Arabidopsis.