the-infiltration-centrifugation-technique-for-extraction-apoplastic

The Infiltration-centrifugation Technique for Extraction of Apoplastic Fluid from Plant Leaves Using <em>Phaseolus vulgaris</em> as an Example

The apoplast is a distinct extracellular compartment in plant tissues that lies outside the plasma membrane and includes the cell wall. The apoplastic ...

University of Exeter

The metal hyperaccumulator plant Noccaea caerulescens is protected from disease by the accumulation of high concentrations of metals in its aerial tissues, which are toxic to many pathogens. As these metals can lead to the production of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS), metal hyperaccumulator plants have developed highly effective ROS tolerance mechanisms, which might quench ROS-based signals. We therefore investigated whether metal accumulation alters defence signalling via ROS in this plant. We studied the effect of zinc (Zn) accumulation by N. caerulescens on pathogen-induced ROS production, salicylic acid accumulation and downstream defence responses, such as callose deposition and pathogenesis-related (PR) gene expression, to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola. The accumulation of Zn caused increased superoxide production in N. caerulescens, but inoculation with P. syringae did not elicit the defensive oxidative burst typical of most plants. Defences dependent on signalling through ROS (callose and PR gene expression) were also modified or absent in N. caerulescens, whereas salicylic acid production in response to infection was retained. These observations suggest that metal hyperaccumulation is incompatible with defence signalling through ROS and that, as metal hyperaccumulation became effective as a form of elemental defence, normal defence responses became progressively uncoupled from ROS signalling in N. caerulescens.

Uncoupling of reactive oxygen species accumulation and defence signalling in the metal hyperaccumulator plant Noccaea caerulescens.

Metal hyperaccumulating plants are able to accumulate exceptionally high concentrations of metals, such as zinc, nickel, or cadmium, in their aerial tissues. These metals reach concentrations that would be toxic to most other plant species. This trait has evolved multiple times independently in the plant kingdom. Recent studies have provided new insight into the ecological and evolutionary significance of this trait, by showing that some metal hyperaccumulating plants can use high concentrations of accumulated metals to defend themselves against attack by pathogenic microorganisms and herbivores. Here, we review the evidence that metal hyperaccumulation acts as a defensive trait in plants, with particular emphasis on plant-pathogen interactions. We discuss the mechanisms by which defense against pathogens might have driven the evolution of metal hyperaccumulation, including the interaction of this trait with other forms of defense. In particular, we consider how physiological adaptations and fitness costs associated with metal hyperaccumulation could have resulted in trade-offs between metal hyperaccumulation and other defenses. Drawing on current understanding of the population ecology of metal hyperaccumulator plants, we consider the conditions that might have been necessary for metal hyperaccumulation to be selected as a defensive trait, and discuss the likelihood that these were fulfilled. Based on these conditions, we propose a possible scenario for the evolution of metal hyperaccumulation, in which selective pressure for resistance to pathogens or herbivores, combined with gene flow from non-metallicolous populations, increases the likelihood that the metal hyperaccumulating trait becomes established in plant populations.

Article	Year
Uncoupling of reactive oxygen species accumulation and defence signalling in the metal hyperaccumulator plant Noccaea caerulescens. The New phytologist\| PubMed ID: 23758201	2013
The current status of the elemental defense hypothesis in relation to pathogens. Frontiers in plant science\| PubMed ID: 24137169	2013

Helen N. Fones

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