Abstract
Glucosinolates (GS) are important plant secondary metabolites in plant resistance to herbivores, bacteria, and fungi, which have been shown to be accumulating in different organs and tissue types at varying concentrations. There are more than 200 GS species found in order Brassicales and presence of these compounds is well documented on organ-specific but not on cell-specific level. We used UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS to measure the presence of GS and qRT-PCR to analyse the expression of GS biosynthetic and regulatory genes in isolated Arabidopsis thaliana trichomes. Trichomes of Arabidopsis are shown to synthesize chemoprotective aliphatic glucosinolates (AGS) and indolic glucosinolates (IGS), which are known for their biological activities against fungi, bacterial pathogens, or herbivores. UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS analysis of various IGS mutants reveal increased or decreased levels of IGS in trichomes of gain- and loss-of-function mutants correspondingly. Using pMYB51/HIG1-uidA and pMYB28/PMG1/HAG1-uidA reporter plants we demonstrate that production of these important compounds is activated in trichomes of leaves or inflorescences in response to wounding. Since trichomes represent the first interface in plant-environment interactions, the possible role of GS containing trichomes in plant defense or signaling is discussed.
Highlights
Due to their sessile life style plants are exposed to numerous stresses, including varying light intensities, wind, extreme temperatures, shortage of water and nutrients, pathogen, and herbivore attack
Induced expression of ProMYB51/HIG1-uidA and ProMY28/PMG1/HAG1-uidA constructs in trichomes after wounding was analyzed either on entire plants, which were still grown in pots, or on detached leaf and stem pieces
Leaves of ProMYB51/HIG1-uidA reporter transgenic lines and inflorescences of ProMYB28/PMG1/HAG1-uidA transgenic lines were wounded by scalpel or damaged by small scissors, which was immediately followed by β-glucuronidase staining in a 0.1% X-Gluc solution as reported previously (Gigolashvili et al, 2007a)
Summary
Due to their sessile life style plants are exposed to numerous stresses, including varying light intensities, wind, extreme temperatures, shortage of water and nutrients, pathogen, and herbivore attack. The non-glandular trichomes are believed to be physically defensive structures, and it has been demonstrated that induced plant response to herbivory correlates with an increased number of trichomes per leaf (Mauricio and Rausher, 1997; Agrawal, 2000; Clauss et al, 2006). It is Abbreviations: GS, glucosinolates; IGS, indolic glucosinolates; AGS, aliphatic glucosinolats; ITCs, isothiocyanates
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