Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Plant Cell logoLink to The Plant Cell
. 1997 Oct;9(10):1701–1712. doi: 10.1105/tpc.9.10.1701

Wounding changes the spatial expression pattern of the arabidopsis plastid omega-3 fatty acid desaturase gene (FAD7) through different signal transduction pathways.

T Nishiuchi 1, T Hamada 1, H Kodama 1, K Iba 1
PMCID: PMC157015  PMID: 9368411

Abstract

The Arabidopsis FAD7 gene encodes a plastid omega-3 fatty acid desaturase that catalyzes the desaturation of dienoic fatty acids in membrane lipids. The mRNA levels of the Arabidopsis FAD7 gene in rosette leaves rose rapidly after local wounding treatments. Wounding also induced the expression of the FAD7 gene in roots. To study wound-responsive expression of the FAD7 gene in further detail, we analyzed transgenic tobacco plants carrying the -825 Arabidopsis FAD7 promoter-beta-glucuronidase fusion gene. In unwounded transformants, FAD7 promoter activity was restricted to the tissues whose cells contained chloroplasts. Activation of the FAD7 promoter by local wounding treatments was more substantial in stems (29-fold) and roots (10-fold) of transgenic plants than it was in leaves (approximately two-fold). Significant induction by wounding was observed in the overall tissues of stems and included trichomes, the epidermis, cortex, vascular system, and the pith of the parenchyma. Strong promoter activity was found preferentially in the vascular tissues of wounded roots. These results indicate that wounding changes the spatial expression pattern of the FAD7 gene. Inhibitors of the octadecanoid pathway, salicylic acid and n-propyl gallate, strongly suppressed the wound activation of the FAD7 promoter in roots but not in leaves or stems. In unwounded plants, exogenously applied methyl jasmonate activated the FAD7 promoter in roots, whereas it repressed FAD7 promoter activity in leaves. Taken together, wound-responsive expression of the FAD7 gene in roots is thought to be mediated via the octadecanoid pathway, whereas in leaves, jasmonate-independent wound signals may induce the activation of the FAD7 gene. These observations indicate that wound-responsive expression of the FAD7 gene in aerial and subterranean parts of plants is brought about by way of different signal transduction pathways.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.5 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bell E., Mullet J. E. Characterization of an Arabidopsis lipoxygenase gene responsive to methyl jasmonate and wounding. Plant Physiol. 1993 Dec;103(4):1133–1137. doi: 10.1104/pp.103.4.1133. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berger S., Bell E., Sadka A., Mullet J. E. Arabidopsis thaliana Atvsp is homologous to soybean VspA and VspB, genes encoding vegetative storage protein acid phosphatases, and is regulated similarly by methyl jasmonate, wounding, sugars, light and phosphate. Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Mar;27(5):933–942. doi: 10.1007/BF00037021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chang M. M., Horovitz D., Culley D., Hadwiger L. A. Molecular cloning and characterization of a pea chitinase gene expressed in response to wounding, fungal infection and the elicitor chitosan. Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Apr;28(1):105–111. doi: 10.1007/BF00042042. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Conconi A., Miquel M., Browse J. A., Ryan C. A. Intracellular Levels of Free Linolenic and Linoleic Acids Increase in Tomato Leaves in Response to Wounding. Plant Physiol. 1996 Jul;111(3):797–803. doi: 10.1104/pp.111.3.797. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Creelman R. A., Mullet J. E. Jasmonic acid distribution and action in plants: regulation during development and response to biotic and abiotic stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 May 9;92(10):4114–4119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.10.4114. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Creelman R. A., Tierney M. L., Mullet J. E. Jasmonic acid/methyl jasmonate accumulate in wounded soybean hypocotyls and modulate wound gene expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jun 1;89(11):4938–4941. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.11.4938. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Doares S. H., Syrovets T., Weiler E. W., Ryan C. A. Oligogalacturonides and chitosan activate plant defensive genes through the octadecanoid pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 May 9;92(10):4095–4098. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.10.4095. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ellard-Ivey M., Douglas C. J. Role of Jasmonates in the Elicitor- and Wound-Inducible Expression of Defense Genes in Parsley and Transgenic Tobacco. Plant Physiol. 1996 Sep;112(1):183–192. doi: 10.1104/pp.112.1.183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Farmer E. E. Fatty acid signalling in plants and their associated microorganisms. Plant Mol Biol. 1994 Dec;26(5):1423–1437. doi: 10.1007/BF00016483. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Farmer E. E., Ryan C. A. Octadecanoid Precursors of Jasmonic Acid Activate the Synthesis of Wound-Inducible Proteinase Inhibitors. Plant Cell. 1992 Feb;4(2):129–134. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.2.129. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gibson S., Arondel V., Iba K., Somerville C. Cloning of a temperature-regulated gene encoding a chloroplast omega-3 desaturase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol. 1994 Dec;106(4):1615–1621. doi: 10.1104/pp.106.4.1615. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Grantz A. A., Brummell D. A., Bennett A. B. Ascorbate free radical reductase mRNA levels are induced by wounding. Plant Physiol. 1995 May;108(1):411–418. doi: 10.1104/pp.108.1.411. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hamada T., Nishiuchi T., Kodama H., Nishimura M., Iba K. cDNA cloning of a wounding-inducible gene encoding a plastid omega-3 fatty acid desaturase from tobacco. Plant Cell Physiol. 1996 Jul;37(5):606–611. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a028988. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hugly S., Somerville C. A role for membrane lipid polyunsaturation in chloroplast biogenesis at low temperature. Plant Physiol. 1992 May;99(1):197–202. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.1.197. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Iba K., Gibson S., Nishiuchi T., Fuse T., Nishimura M., Arondel V., Hugly S., Somerville C. A gene encoding a chloroplast omega-3 fatty acid desaturase complements alterations in fatty acid desaturation and chloroplast copy number of the fad7 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana. J Biol Chem. 1993 Nov 15;268(32):24099–24105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kim S. R., Choi J. L., Costa M. A., An G. Identification of G-Box Sequence as an Essential Element for Methyl Jasmonate Response of Potato Proteinase Inhibitor II Promoter. Plant Physiol. 1992 Jun;99(2):627–631. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.2.627. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kodama H., Akagi H., Kusumi K., Fujimura T., Iba K. Structure, chromosomal location and expression of a rice gene encoding the microsome omega-3 fatty acid desaturase. Plant Mol Biol. 1997 Feb;33(3):493–502. doi: 10.1023/a:1005726210977. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kodama H., Hamada T., Horiguchi G., Nishimura M., Iba K. Genetic Enhancement of Cold Tolerance by Expression of a Gene for Chloroplast [omega]-3 Fatty Acid Desaturase in Transgenic Tobacco. Plant Physiol. 1994 Jun;105(2):601–605. doi: 10.1104/pp.105.2.601. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kodama H., Horiguchi G., Nishiuchi T., Nishimura M., Iba K. Fatty Acid Desaturation during Chilling Acclimation Is One of the Factors Involved in Conferring Low-Temperature Tolerance to Young Tobacco Leaves. Plant Physiol. 1995 Apr;107(4):1177–1185. doi: 10.1104/pp.107.4.1177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Mason H. S., DeWald D. B., Mullet J. E. Identification of a methyl jasmonate-responsive domain in the soybean vspB promoter. Plant Cell. 1993 Mar;5(3):241–251. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.3.241. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. McConn M., Browse J. The Critical Requirement for Linolenic Acid Is Pollen Development, Not Photosynthesis, in an Arabidopsis Mutant. Plant Cell. 1996 Mar;8(3):403–416. doi: 10.1105/tpc.8.3.403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. McGurl B., Mukherjee S., Kahn M., Ryan C. A. Characterization of two proteinase inhibitor (ATI) cDNAs from alfalfa leaves (Medicago sativa var. Vernema): the expression of ATI genes in response to wounding and soil microorganisms. Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Mar;27(5):995–1001. doi: 10.1007/BF00037026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Melan M. A., Dong X., Endara M. E., Davis K. R., Ausubel F. M., Peterman T. K. An Arabidopsis thaliana lipoxygenase gene can be induced by pathogens, abscisic acid, and methyl jasmonate. Plant Physiol. 1993 Feb;101(2):441–450. doi: 10.1104/pp.101.2.441. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Miquel M., James D., Jr, Dooner H., Browse J. Arabidopsis requires polyunsaturated lipids for low-temperature survival. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Jul 1;90(13):6208–6212. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.13.6208. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Nishiuchi T., Nakamura T., Abe T., Kodama H., Nishimura M., Iba K. Tissue-specific and light-responsive regulation of the promoter region of the Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplast omega-3 fatty acid desaturase gene (FAD7). Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Nov;29(3):599–609. doi: 10.1007/BF00020987. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Puissant C., Houdebine L. M. An improvement of the single-step method of RNA isolation by acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction. Biotechniques. 1990 Feb;8(2):148–149. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Seo S., Okamoto M., Seto H., Ishizuka K., Sano H., Ohashi Y. Tobacco MAP kinase: a possible mediator in wound signal transduction pathways. Science. 1995 Dec 22;270(5244):1988–1992. doi: 10.1126/science.270.5244.1988. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Somerville C., Browse J. Plant lipids: metabolism, mutants, and membranes. Science. 1991 Apr 5;252(5002):80–87. doi: 10.1126/science.252.5002.80. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Usami S., Banno H., Ito Y., Nishihama R., Machida Y. Cutting activates a 46-kilodalton protein kinase in plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 Sep 12;92(19):8660–8664. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.19.8660. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Vick B. A., Zimmerman D. C. Biosynthesis of jasmonic Acid by several plant species. Plant Physiol. 1984 Jun;75(2):458–461. doi: 10.1104/pp.75.2.458. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Williams M. E., Foster R., Chua N. H. Sequences flanking the hexameric G-box core CACGTG affect the specificity of protein binding. Plant Cell. 1992 Apr;4(4):485–496. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.4.485. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Xu Y., Zhu Q., Panbangred W., Shirasu K., Lamb C. Regulation, expression and function of a new basic chitinase gene in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Mol Biol. 1996 Feb;30(3):387–401. doi: 10.1007/BF00049319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Yamamoto K. T. Further characterization of auxin-regulated mRNAs in hypocotyl sections of mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]: sequence homology to genes for fatty-acid desaturases and atypical late-embryogenesis-abundant protein, and the mode of expression of the mRNAs. Planta. 1994;192(3):359–364. doi: 10.1007/BF00198571. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Zou J., Abrams G. D., Barton D. L., Taylor D. C., Pomeroy M. K., Abrams S. R. Induction of Lipid and Oleosin Biosynthesis by (+)-Abscisic Acid and Its Metabolites in Microspore-Derived Embryos of Brassica napus L.cv Reston (Biological Responses in the Presence of 8[prime]-Hydroxyabscisic Acid). Plant Physiol. 1995 Jun;108(2):563–571. doi: 10.1104/pp.108.2.563. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Plant Cell are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES