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Aspirin prevents wound-induced gene expression in tomato leaves by blocking jasmonic acid biosynthesis

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Abstract

Jasmonic acid (JA) and its methyl ester, like mechanical wounding, strongly induce accumulation of proteinase inhibitor II (Pin2) in tomato and potato leaves. In plants, JA is synthesized from α-linolenic acid by a lipoxygenase (LOX)-mediated oxygenation leading to 13-hydroxyperoxylinolenic acid (13-HPLA) which is then subsequently transformed to JA by the action of hydroperoxide-dehydrase activity and additional modification steps. Both the chemical structure as well as the biosynthetic pathway of JA resemble those of the mammalian eicosanoids (prostaglandins and leukotrienes) which are derived from LOX-and cyclooxygenase (COX)-mediated reactions. To assess the role of endogenous JA in the wound response, detached tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) leaves were supplied with different LOX and COX inhibitors and the expression of the wound-induced genes for Pin2 (Pin2), cathepsin D inhibitor (Cdi) and threonine deaminase (Td) was analyzed. Lipoxygenase inhibitors as well as some COX inhibitors blocked the wound-induced accumulation of Pin2, Cdi and Td mRNA. Quantitation of endogenous levels of JA showed that aspirin blocks the increase of this phytohormone normally observed as a result of wounding. Linolenic acid and 13-HPLA do not induce the expression of Pin2, Cdi and Td in the presence of aspirin. However, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid and jasmonic acid are able to overcome the inhibitory effect of this substance. These results strongly indicate that aspirin prevents wound-induced gene activation by inhibiting the hydroxyperoxide-dehydrase activity that mediates the conversion of 13-HPLA to 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

cis-abscisic acid

Cdi:

cathepsin D-inhibitor

COX:

cyclooxygenase

ETYA:

eicosatetraynoic acid

13-HPLA:

13-hydroxyperoxylinolenic acid

JA:

jasmonic acid

LA:

linolenic acid

LOX:

lipoxygenase

MeJa:

methyl jasmonate

12-oxo-PDA:

12-oxo-phytodienoic acid

Pin2:

proteinase inhibitor II

SHAM:

salicylhydroxamic acid

ssRb :

gene for the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase

Td:

threonine deaminase

ZK139817:

lipoxygenase in-hibitor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Genbiologische Forschung GmbH, Ihnestrasse 63, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Hugo Pena-Cortés, Salomé Prat & Lothar Willmitzer

  2. Lehrstuhl für Pflanzenphysiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44789, Bochum, Germany

    Tanja Albrecht & Elmar W. Weiler

Authors
  1. Hugo Pena-Cortés
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  2. Tanja Albrecht
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  3. Salomé Prat
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  4. Elmar W. Weiler
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  5. Lothar Willmitzer
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Additional information

We thank Drs. Thomas Altmann and Peter Morris (Institut für Genbiologische Forschung, Berlin, FRG) for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant from the Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie.

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Pena-Cortés, H., Albrecht, T., Prat, S. et al. Aspirin prevents wound-induced gene expression in tomato leaves by blocking jasmonic acid biosynthesis. Planta 191, 123–128 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00240903

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00240903

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