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Lithium treatment induces a hypersensitive-like response in tobacco

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Abstract

Treatment of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants with lithium induces the formation of necrotic lesions and leaf curling as in the case of incompatible pathogen interactions. Further similarities at the molecular level include accumulation of ethylene and of salicylic and gentisic acids, and induced expression of pathogenesis-related PR-P, PR5 and PR1 genes. With the exception of PR1 induction, lithium produced the same effects in transgenic tobacco plants that do not accumulate salicylate because of overexpression of the bacterial hydroxylase gene nahG. On the other hand, inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis with aminoethoxyvinylglycine prevented lithium-induced cell death and PR5 expression. These results suggest that lithium triggers a hypersensitive-like response where ethylene signalling is essential.

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Fig. 1a–h.
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Abbreviations

AVG:

aminoethoxyvinylglycine

HR:

hypersensitive response

PR:

pathogenesis related

SA:

salicylic acid

SAR:

systemic acquired resistance

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Jonathan D.G. Jones (John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK) for providing seeds of the transgenic nahG tobacco plants. This work was supported by grants from the Consellería de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain) to R.S., and from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (Madrid, Spain, project BMC2000-1130) to O.V. C.R. was a fellow of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (Madrid, Spain). We thank V. Conejero, Jose L. Vaya and F.A. Culiañez-Macia for their help at different stages of the work.

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  1. Miguel A. Naranjo

    Present address: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Avda. José Pedro Alessandri 1242, Macul-Santiago, Chile

  2. Carlos Romero

    Present address: Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, Carretera de Moncada-Naquera Km 5, Apartado Oficial, 46113, Moncada, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia-C.S.I.C., Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Miguel A. Naranjo, Carlos Romero, José M. Bellés, Consuelo Montesinos, Oscar Vicente & Ramón Serrano

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  1. Miguel A. Naranjo
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Correspondence to Ramón Serrano.

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Naranjo, M.A., Romero, C., Bellés, J.M. et al. Lithium treatment induces a hypersensitive-like response in tobacco. Planta 217, 417–424 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-003-1017-4

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