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Enhancement of starch accumulation in plants by exogenously applied methyl jasmonate

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Abstract

Increasing starch production is a central issue in plant biology and applied biotechnology. Although genetic engineering has been applied to produce plants containing much starch, chemicals that promote starch accumulation have not been well studied. Here, we report that exogenously applied methyl jasmonate (MeJA) enhanced the leaf starch content of Arabidopsis thaliana. A significant increase in starch production was detected during the light period after Arabidopsis was treated with high doses of MeJA (100–1,000 μM). The MeJA application influenced starch production rather than starch degradation because the expression of starch biosynthetic genes was upregulated by MeJA. The promotion of starch accumulation by MeJA was demonstrated not only in Arabidopsis but also in tobacco and spinach. These results suggest that the promotion of starch accumulation by MeJA is a common response found in a variety of plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Ikuo Takahashi & Masakazu Hara

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  1. Ikuo Takahashi
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  2. Masakazu Hara
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Correspondence to Masakazu Hara.

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Takahashi, I., Hara, M. Enhancement of starch accumulation in plants by exogenously applied methyl jasmonate. Plant Biotechnol Rep 8, 143–149 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-013-0304-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-013-0304-1

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