Phosphoinositide and Inositolpolyphosphate Signalling in Defense Responses of Arabidopsis thaliana Challenged by Mechanical Wounding

Abstract

Various biochemical signals are implicated in Arabidopsis wound signalling, including jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid, auxin, and Ca2+. Here, we report on cross-talk of phytohormones with phosphoinositide signals not previously implicated in plant wound responses. Within 30 min of mechanical wounding of Arabidopsis rosette-leaves, the levels of the lipid-derived soluble inositolpolyphosphate, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP(3)), increased four to five-fold. Concomitantly, the precursor lipids, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol transiently depleted, followed by re-synthesis after 30-60 min of stimulation. Increased InsP(3) levels with wounding coincided with JA increases over the first hours of stimulation. In dde2-2-mutant plants deficient in JA biosynthesis, no InsP(3) increase was observed upon wounding, indicating that JA was required for InsP(3) formation, and InsP(3) levels increased in wild-type plants challenged with sorbitol, increasing endogenous JA levels. In InsP 5-ptase plants with attenuated phosphoinositide signalling, the induction of wounding-inducible genes was diminished compared with wild-type plants, suggesting a role for phosphoinositide signalling in mediating plant wound responses. The gene-expression patterns suggest that phosphoinositides contribute to both JA-dependent and JA-independent aspects of wound signalling. Weight gain of Plutella xylostella caterpillars feeding on InsP 5-ptase plants was increased compared with that of caterpillars feeding on wild-type plants. The ecophysiological relevance of phosphoinositide signals in plant defense responses to herbivory is discussed in light of recent findings of inositolpolyphosphate involvement in phytohormone-receptor function.