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SA and ROS are involved in methyl salicylate-induced programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana

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Abstract

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a genetically encoded, active process that results in the death of individual cells, tissues, or whole organs, which plays an important role in the life cycles of plants and animals. Previous studies show that methyl salicylate (MeSA) is a defense signal molecular associated with systemic acquired resistance and hypersensitive reaction; however, whether MeSA can induce PCD in plant is still unknown. The morphological changes of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts exposed to MeSA were observed under fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the induction of PCD was clearly distinguished by intense perinuclear chromatin margination, condensation of nuclear chromatin and DNA laddering after 3-h exposure of 100 μM MeSA. Our results also showed that salicylic acid (SA) was involved in MeSA-induced PCD by using a transgenic nahG Arabidopsis thaliana line, and the process was mediated by reactive oxygen species, which functioned with SA by making an amplification loop. Our study showed that MeSA could induce PCD in plant cell for the first time.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Dong Jingao (Molecular Plant Pathology Lab, College of Life Science, Agricultural University of Hebei) for kindly providing transgenic nahG Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions on the manuscript. This research was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) [grant number 2007AA10Z204], the Chinese Science and Technology Foundation of Guangdong Province [grant number 2007A020300008-6], the opening project of MOE Key laboratory of Laser Life Science in South China Normal University, and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT0829).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Guangdong Key Lab of Biotechnology for Plant development, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Li Juan Yun & Wen Li Chen

  2. MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Wen Li Chen

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  1. Li Juan Yun
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  2. Wen Li Chen
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Correspondence to Wen Li Chen.

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Communicated by K. Chong.

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Yun, L.J., Chen, W.L. SA and ROS are involved in methyl salicylate-induced programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana . Plant Cell Rep 30, 1231–1239 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-011-1031-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-011-1031-0

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