A change of phenolic acids content in poplar leaves induced by methyl sali-cylate and methyl jasmonate

The contents of seven different phenolic acids such as gallic acid, catechinic acid, pyrocatechol, caffeic acid, coumaric acid, ferulic acid and benzoic acid in the poplar leaves （Populus Simonii×Populus Pyramibalis c.v and Populus deltoids） suffocated by Methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and Methyl salicylate （MeSA） were monitored for analyzing their functions in interplant communications by using high-pressure liquid chromatography （HPLC）.The results showed that the contents of phenolic acids had obviously difference in leaves exposed to either MeSA or MeJA.When P.deltoides leaves exposed to MeJA or MeSA, the level of gallic acid, coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and benzoic acid was increased, gallic acid in leaves treated with MeJA comes to a peak at 24 h while to a peak at 12-d having leaves treated with MeSA.When P.Simonii ×P.Pyramibalis c.v leaves were exposed to MeJA or MeSA, the level of gallic acid, pyrocatechol and ferulic acid was increased; The catechinic acid and benzoic acid had a little drop; The caffeic acid and coumaric acid were undetected in both suffocated and control leaves.This changed pattern indicated that MeJA and MeSA can act as airborne signals to induce defense response of plants.

Increased Endogenous Methyl Jasmonate Altered Leaf and Root Development in Transgenic Soybean Plants

Methyl jasmonate （MeJA） is a plant-signaling molecule that regulates plant morphogenesis and expression of plant defense genes. To determine the role of the endogenous MeJA levels in the development of plants, transgenic soybean [Glycine max （L.） Merrill] plants harboring NTR1 gene encoding for jasmonic acid carboxyl methyltransferase （JMT） were produced. The activation of NTR1 gene expression resulted in the production of MeJA. Overexpression of the NTR1 cDNA under the regulation of cauliflower mosaic virus （CaMV） 35S promoter in the transgenic soybean plants was confirmed using Northern blot analysis. The significant differences in leaf and root growth patterns were observed between the transgenic plants and the wild-type plants. The leaves of the transgenic plants were slightly elongated in length but dramatically narrowed in width compared with the nontrans-formed wild-type plants. In addition, elongation of primary root was inhibited in the overexpressed transgenic soybean plantlets, whereas the development of lateral root was stimulated relative to the nontransformed plants. The leaves of the transgenic plants showed 2-2.5-fold higher levels of MeJA than the control plants. These results indicated that the increased endogenous levels of MeJA is involved in regulation of morphogenesis in soybean plants.

Methyl Jasmonate Reduces Chilling Injury and Maintains Postharvest Quality in Peaches

Zhaohui peaches(Prunus persica Batsch)were treated with 0(CK), 1, 10 or 100 μmol L-1 methyl jasmonate(MeJA)vapor at 20℃ for 24 h before stored at 0℃ for 35 d. The untreated fruits showed chilling injury(CD symptoms after 4 wk of storage, as indicated by increased fruit firmness and reduced ex-tractable juice, which is referred as leatheriness. Treatment with 1 and 10 μmol L-1 MeJA promoted normal ripening and softening, maintained higher levels of extractable juice, titratable acidity, pectinesterase(PE)and polygalacturonase(PC)activities, inhibited increases in fruit fresh weight loss, decay incidence, electrolyte leakage and MDA content, and improved color development, thereby preventing chilling injury symptoms development and maintaining edible quality. MeJA treatment also delayed the climacteric rise in respiratory rate, but promoted ethylene production during the later period of cold storage, suggesting that ethylene may involve in CI development of peaches. These results indicate that 1 and 10 μmol L-1 MeJA treatments could be used to reduce CI development and decay incidence in peaches.

Application of methyl jasmonate postharvest maintains the quality of Nanguo pears by regulating mitochondrial energy metabolism

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of methyl jasmonate(Me JA)dipping treatment on mitochondrial energy metabolism and quality parameters of Nanguo pears during room temperature storage.The results showed that Me JA treatment suppressed the respiration rate and weight loss,and maintained the flesh firmness of Nanguo pears.Me JA also effectively maintained the content of ascorbic acid and titratable acidity in the fruit.Furthermore,the activities of H^(+)-ATPase,Ca^(2+)-ATPase,succinate dehydrogenase(SDH)and cytochrome C oxidase(CCO)of the Me JA-treated fruit were significantly higher than those of the untreated fruit.The contents of adenosine triphosphate(ATP)and adenosine diphosphate(ADP)and the energy charge were also enhanced by Me JA treatment.These results suggest that postharvest Me JA treatment could maintain the quality of Nanguo pears,in part by modulating mitochondrial energy metabolism during room temperature storage.

Regulatory effect of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate supplementation on ergosterol production in Hericium erinaceus mycelia

We evaluated the biomass and ergosterol content of Hericium erinaceus mycelium, and extracellular enzyme activities in H. erinaceus liquid culture following salicylic acid（SA） and methyl jasmonic acid（Me JA）supplementation. The optimal SA concentration was100 lmoláL-1, where the highest ergosterol content of 2.33 mgág-1was obtained following 6-day cultivation with100 lmoláL-1SA supplementation, and which was significantly higher than the unsupplemented control（p ／ 0.01）. Following 4-day supplementation with50 lmoláL-1Me JA, the highest ergosterol content obtained was 1.988 mgág-1, which was 25.8 % higher than the unsupplemented control. Our data indicate that SA and Me JA supplementation improves ergosterol content in H.erinaceus mycelium.

Effect of Postharvest Methyl Jasmonate Treatment on Early-Matured “Hass” Avocado Fruit Exocarp Colour Development during Ripening

Poor exocarp colour development is a common postharvest problem for early harvested “Hass” avocado fruit during ripening, which affects fruit quality and consumer preference. Therefore, measures to improve “Hass” avocado fruit colour developments are of great importance in the industry. This study investigated the effectiveness of postharvest methyl jasmonate treatment to improve early matured “Hass” avocado fruit exocarp colour during ripening. The results showed that T1 (10 μmol∙L−1) and T2 (100 μmol∙L−1) MeJA treatment increased visual colour, and decreased objective colour parameters (L*, C* and h˚) during ripening when compared with control fruit. Moreover, MeJA treated “Hass” avocado fruits had lower total chlorophyll content and higher total anthocyanin and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside concentration during ripening. In conclusion, “Hass” avocado fruit post-harvest treated with either T1 (10 μmol∙L−1) or T2 (100 μmol∙L−1) MeJA concentration improved exocarp quality attributes such as colour parameters (L*, C* h˚ and visual colour) and pigments (total anthocyanin and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside) during ripening, therefore, can be recommended for avocado fruit.

The Role of Jasmonates as Antibulbing Substances in the Bulb Formation of Onion

Onion plants form spherical bulbs under long-day conditions.Substances regulating bulb formation remain unknown.In the course of chemical studies on the bulb formation,α-linolenic acid was isolated from onion extracts as an antibulbing substance,the amount of which was synchronized with the bulb formation.Since allene oxide synthase inhibitor canceled the antibulbing activity ofα-linolenic acid,it was disclosed that jasmonic acid concerns this regulation.Structure-activity-relationship study revealed that its(3R,7S)stereochemistry is necessary for showing its antibulbing activity.It is concluded that(3R,7S)-jasmonate derived fromα-linolenic acid actually participates in the regulation of bulb formation.

Aroma changes of black tea prepared from methyl jasmonate treated tea plants

Methyl jasmonate（MeJA） was widely applied in promoting food quality.Aroma is one of the key indicators in judging the quality of tea.This study examined the effect of exogenous MeJA treatment on tea aroma.The aroma components in black tea prepared from MeJA-treated fresh tea leaves were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction（HS-SPME） and were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（GC-MS） and GC-olfactometry（GC-O）.Forty-five volatile compounds were identified.The results revealed that the MeJA-treated black tea had higher levels of terpene alcohols and hexenyl esters than the untreated tea.Moreover,several newly components,including copaene,cubenol,and indole,were induced by the MeJA treatment.The activities of polyphenol oxidase and β-glucosidase in fresh tea leaves changed after the MeJA treatment.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction（qRT-PCR） analysis indicated that the gene expression levels of polyphenol oxidase and β-primeverosidase were upregulated by two and three folds,respectively,by the MeJA treatment（P0.01）; however,the gene expression of β-glucosidase was downregulated to a half level.In general,the aroma quality of the MeJAtreated black tea was clearly improved.

Characterization of the Tomato Prosystemin Promoter:Organ-specific Expression,Hormone Specificity and Methyl Jasmonate Responsiveness by Deletion Analysis in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

Tomato systemin is a bioactive peptide that regulates the systemic activation of wound-responsive genes. It is released from its 200 amino acid precursor called prosystemin. Initial tissue-localization and hormone-induced expression assays indicated that the tomato prosystemin gene （SIPS） accumulates mainly in floral tissues and in response to exogenous abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate （MeJA） treatments, respectively. Later, the promoter regions of the PS gene in tomato （Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Castlemart）, pepper （Capsicum annuum） and potato （Solanum tuberosum） were isolated and an in silico analysis of the SIPS promoter revealed an over-representation of stress- and MeJA-responsive motifs. A subsequent 5＇ deletion analysis of the SIPS promoter fused to the/^-glucuronidase reporter （GUS） gene showed that the -221 to ＋40 bp proximal SIPS promoter region was sufficient to direct the stigma, vascular bundle-specific and MeJA-responsive expression of GUS in transgenic tobacco plants. Important vascular.tissue-specific, light- and MeJA-responsive cis-elements were also present in this region. These findings provide relevant information regarding the transcriptional regulation mechanisms of the SIPS promoter operating in transgenic tobacco plants. They also suggest that its Ussue-specificity and inducible nature could have wide applicability in plant biotechnology.

Leaf and root glucosinolate profiles of Chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) as a systemic response to methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid elicitation

Glucosinolates （GSs） are an important group of defensive phytochemicals mainly found in Brassicaceae. Plant hormones jasmonic acid （JA） and salicylic acid （SA） are major regulators of plant response to pathogen attack. However, there is little information about the interactive effect of both elicitors on inducing GS biosynthesis in Chinese cabbage （Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis）. In this study, we applied different concentrations of methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and/or SA onto the leaf and root of Chinese cabbage to investigate the time-course interactive profiles of GSs. Re- gardless of the site of the elicitation and the concentrations of the elicitors, the roots accumulated much more GSs and were more sensitive and more rapidly responsive to the elicitors than leaves. Irrespective of the elicitation site, MeJA had a greater inducing and longer lasting effect on GS accumulation than SA. All three components of indole GS （IGS） were detected along with aliphatic and aromatic GSs. However, IGS was a major component of total GSs that ac- cumulated rapidly in both root and leaf tissues in response to MeJA and SA elicitation. Neoglucobrassicin （neoGBC） did not respond to SA but to MeJA in leaf tissue, while it responded to both SA and MeJA in root tissue. Conversion of glucobrassicin （GBC） to neoGBC occurred at a steady rate over 3 d of elicitation. Increased accumulation of 4-methoxy glucobrassicin （4-MGBC） occurred only in the root irrespective of the type of elicitors and the site of elici- tation. Thus, accumulation of IGS is a major metabolic hallmark of SA＊ and MeJA-mediated systemic response sys- tems. SA exerted an antagonistic effect on the MeJA-induced root GSs irrespective of the site of elicitation. However, SA showed synergistic and antagonistic effects on the MeJA-induced leaf GSs when roots and leaves are elicitated for 3 d, respectively.

Anti-inflammatory and membrane stabilizing properties of methyl jasmonate in rats

The present investigation was carried out to evaluate anti-inflammatory and membrane stabilizing properties of methyl jasmonate(MJ) in experimental rat models of acute and chronic inflammation.The effects of MJ on acute inflammation were assessed using carrageenan-induced rat's paw edema model.The granuloma air pouch model was employed to evaluate the effects of MJ on chronic inflammation produced by carrageenan in rats.The number of white blood cells(WBC) in pouch exudates was estimated using light microscopy.The levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress,such as malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH) and activity of antioxidant enzymes in the exudates,were determined using spectrophotometry.The membrane stabilizing property of MJ was assessed based on inhibition of hemolysis of rat red blood cells(RBC) exposed to hypotonic medium.Our results indicated that MJ(25-100 mg·kg-1,i.p.) produced significant anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats(P < 0.05).MJ reduced the volume of pouch exudates and the number of WBC in carrageenan-induced granulomatous inflammation.It also exhibited potent antioxidant and membrane stabilizing activities.In conclusion,these findings suggest the therapeutic potentials of methyl jasmonate in disease conditions associated with inflammation and its anti-inflammatory activity may be related to its antioxidant and membrane stabilizing activities.

Transcriptome changes in Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. roots induced by methyl jasmonate

Transcriptome profiling has been widely used to analyze transcdptomic variation in plants subjected to abiotic or biotic stresses. Although gene expression changes induced by methyl jasmonate （MeJA） have been profiled in several plant species, no information is available on the MeJA-triggered transcriptome response of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb., a species with highly valuable medicinal properties. In this study, we used transcriptome profiling to investigate transcdptome changes in roots of P. mu/tiflorum seedlings subjected to a 0.25 mmol/L-MeJA rootirrigation treatment. A total of 18 677 differentially expressed genes （DEGs） were induced by MeJA treatment, of which 4535 were up-regulated and 14 142 were down-ragulated compared with controls. These DEGs were associated with 125 metabolic pathways. In addition to various common primary and secondary metabolic pathways, several sec- ondary metabolic pathways related to components with significant pharmacological effects were enriched by MeJA, including arachidonic acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, and stilbenoid biosynthesis. The MeJA-induced transcdptome changes uncovered in this study provide a solid foundation for future study of functional genes controlling effective components in secondary metabolic pathways of P. multiflorum.

Activities of lipoxygenase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase in poplar leaves induced by insect herbivory and volatiles

A study was conducted to explore the defense response in woody plants after insect herbivory. The activities of two enzymes, lipoxygenase （LOX）, a key enzyme ofjasmonate （JA） pathway, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase （PAL）, a rate-limiting enzyme of phenyl- propanoid pathway, were measured in the leaves of one-year-old poplar （Populus simonii × P. pyramidalis ＇Opera 8277＇） cuttings after Clostera anachoreta larvae attack. The results show that the increased activities of LOX and PAL were found not only in the leaves wounded by C. anachoreta larvae but also in their tipper systemic leaves, indicating that JA and phenylpropanoid pathways were activated, and the defense response was stimulated systemically. The increase in LOX and PAL activities in neighboring intact poplar cuttings sug- gested that there exists the interplant communication between poplar plants mediated by the herbivore-induced volatiles. Methyl jasmonate （MeJA） was also proved to be an airborne signal to induce defense response in P simonii × P pyramidalis ＇Opera 8277＇ cuttings.

cDNA-Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis reveals differential gene expression induced by exogenous MeJA and GA_3 in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) flowers

The transition of a plant from vegetative to reproductive stage is controlled by a large group of genes, which respond to environmental and endogenous stimuli. Application of methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and gibberellins （GA3） to oilseed plants （Brassica napus L.） interrupts the delicate endogenous balance and results in various floral organ abnormalities. Exogenous MeJA or GA3 influences the transcriptome at the initial fiowenng stage in Arabidopsis, but the corresponding changes of transcriptome in floral tissues of oilseed rape remain unknown. In this study, cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism （cDNA-AFLP） was analyzed to identify genes whose expression was modulated by application of MeJA and GA3 to flower buds. A total of 2 787 cDNA fragments were counted using 64 primer pair combinations, and bands larger than 50 bp were compared among four treatments, namely, water control, MeJA （50 μmol L-1）, MeJA （100 μmol L-1）, and GA3 （50 μmol L-1）. Overall, 168 transcript-derived fragments （TDFs） were differentially expressed among the treatments. The expression pattern of some TDFs was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, and a group of 106 differentially displayed TDFs was cloned and sequenced. Homologs of Arabidopsis genes were identified and classified into 12 functional categories. A total of 34, 39, and 24 TDFs were responsive to GA3, MeJA, and both GA3 and MeJA, respectively. This finding indicated that cross-talk between these two hormones may be involved in regulating flower development. This study provides potential target genes for manipulation in terms of flowering time and floral organ initiation, important agronomic traits of oilseed rape.

Expression in Arabidopsis of a Strawberry Linalool Synthase Gene Under the Control of the Inducible Potato PI2 Promoter

To investigate the role of inducible linalool in Arabidopsis-insect interactions, the FANES 1 linalool synthase （LIS） cDNA from strawberry with plastid targeting and a synthetic intron （LIS＇） was placed under the control of the wound inducible proteinase inhibitor 2 （PI2） promoter from potato. The construct pBin-PPi2-LIS＇ was transformed to Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia 0. Kanamycin resistant TO seedlings were confirmed for the presence and transcription of the LIS＇ gene by PCR analysis on genomic DNA and by RT-PCR analysis on RNA. Genomic and RT-PCR products were sequenced to confirm correct splicing of the synthetic intron. The expression of active linalool synthase by the PPI2-LIS＇ gene construct in the transgenic lines was assessed by measuring linalool emission using solid phase micro-extraction （SPME） GC-MS measurements after induction with methyl jasmonate. Among 30 tested independent T2 transgenic lines, 10 exhibited linalool production. Linalool expression could be induced by methyl jasmonate treatment, but not by diamondback moth larvae.

Effect of Exogenous MJA Treatment of Tea Plants on the Growth of Geometrid Larvae

The effect of tea plant Camellia sinensis induced by exogenous methyl jasmonate （MJA） on lipoxygenase （LOX）, polyphenol oxidase （PPO） and proteinase inhibitor （PI） activity in the leaves of tea plants, as well as the growth and midgut proteinase activity of the geometrid Ectropis obliqua larvae were studied. MJA significantly induced LOX, PPO and PI activity in leaves of tea plants. When geometrid larvae have fed on leaves of tea plants treated with MJA, the activities of the high alkaline trypsin-like enzyme and chymotrypsin-like enzyme in their midgut were significantly inhibited, but the activities of the low alkaline trypsin-like enzyme in their midgut were unaffected, leading to imbalance between different types of proteinase activity in the midgut of the larvae and in turn, the growth were inhibited. These chains of response may be an important mechanism of the direct resistance induced by MJA-treatment of tea plant on geometrid larvae.

Effects of Growth Regulator MeJA on Nitrogen Metabolism in Rice under Cadmium Stress

Taking high nitrogen efficiency and low nitrogen tolerance C156 and C111 rice varieties as materials,the aboveground and underground biomass,total nitrogen uptake,nitrate nitrogen content and other indicators,the effects of methyl jasmonate(MeJA)on the growth,development and NO3^-distribution of rice under cadmium stress were studied.The results showed that under cadmium stress,more nitrate nitrogen of rice seedlings was distributed to roots,which enhanced the stress resistance of crops.The concentration of methyl jasmonate at 70μmol/L is a boundary line,and the methyl jasmonate at 70μmol/L is recommended as the later research material.Methyl jasmonate can increase the biomass and total nitrogen uptake of C156 under cadmium stress,but the effect is not significant.It can significantly improve the NUE of C111 based on biomass.

Jasmonate- and salicylate-induced defenses in wheat affect host preference and probing behavior but not performance of the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae

Jasmonate and salicylatemediated signaling pathways play significant roles in induced plant defenses, but there is no sufficient evidence for their roles in monocots against aphids. We exogenously applied methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and salicylic acid （SA） on wheat seedlings and examined biochemical responses in wheat and effects on the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae （Fab.）. Application of MeJA significantly increased levels of wheat＇s polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase and proteinase inhibitor 1, 2 and 6 days after treatment. In twochoice tests, adult aphids preferred control wheat leaves to MeJA or SA treated leaves. Electrical penetration graph （EPG） recordings of aphid probing behavior revealed that on MeJAtreated plants, the duration of aphid＇s first probe was significantly shorter and number of probes was significantly higher than those on control plants. Also total duration of probing on MeJAtreated plants was significantly shorter than on control plants. Total duration of salivation period on SAtreated plants was significantly longer, while mean phloem ingestion period was significantly shorter than on control plants. However, no significant difference in total duration of phloem sap ingestion period was observed among treatments. The EPG data suggest that MeJAdependent resistance factors might be due to feeding deterrents in mesophyll, whereas the SAmediated resistance may be phloembased. We did not observe any significant difference of MeJA and SA application on aphid development, daily fecundity, intrinsic growth rate and population growth. The results indicate that both MeJA and SAinduced defenses in wheat deterred S. avenae colonization processes and feeding behavior, but had no significant effects on its performance.

Monoclonal Antibody-Based Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Analysis of Jasmonates in Plants

Methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and its free-acid form, jasmonic acid （JA） are naturally occurring plant growth regulators widely distributed in higher plants. In order to improve the sensitivity for the analysis of MeJA at low levels in small amounts of plant samples, a monoclonal antibody （MAb） （designated as MAb 3E5D7C4B6） against MeJA was derived from a JA- bovine serum albumin （BSA） conjugate as an immunogen. The antibody belongs to the IgG1 subclass with a κ type light chain and has a dissociation constant of approximately 6.07 ×10^-9 M. MAb3E5D7C4B6 is very specific to MeJA. It was used to develop a direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （dcELISA）, conventional and simplified indirect competitive ELISAs （icELISA）. JA was derivatized into MeJA for the ELISA analysis. The IC50 value and detection range for MeJA were, respectively, 34 and 4-257 nglmL by the conventional icELISA, 21 and 3-226 nglmL by the simplified icELISA and 5.0 and 0.7-97.0 nglmL by the dcELISA. The dcELISA was more sensitive than either the conventional or simplified icELISA. The assays were used to measure the content of jasmonates as MeJA in tobacco leaves under drought stress or inoculated with tobacco mosaic virus and tomato leaves inoculated with tomato mosaic virus or Lirioinyza sativae Blanchard as compared with the corresponding healthy leaves. The increased jasmonates content indicated its role in response to the drought stress and pathogens.

Jasmonic acid carboxyl methyltransferase regulates development and herbivory-induced defense response in rice

Jasmonic acid（JA） and related metabolites play a key role in plant defense and growth. JA carboxyl methyltransferase（JMT） may be involved in plant defense and development by methylating JA to methyl jasmonate（Me JA） and thus influencing the concentrations of JA and related metabolites. However, no JMT gene has been well characterized in monocotyledon defense and development at the molecular level. After we cloned a rice JMT gene,Os JMT1, whose encoding protein was localized in the cytosol, we found that the recombinant Os JMT1 protein catalyzed JA to Me JA. Os JMT1 is up-regulated in response to infestation with the brown planthopper（BPH; Nilaparvata lugens）. Plants in which Os JMT1 had been overexpressed（oeJMT plants） showed reduced height and yield. These oe-JMT plants also exhibited increased Me JA levels but reduced levels of herbivore-induced JA and jasmonoyl-isoleucine（JAIle）. The oe-JMT plants were more attractive to BPH female adults but showed increased resistance to BPH nymphs,probably owing to the different responses of BPH female adults and nymphs to the changes in levels of H_2O_2 and Me JA in oe-JMT plants. These results indicate that Os JMT1,by altering levels of JA and related metabolites, plays a role in regulating plant development and herbivore-induced defense responses in rice.