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Wide-Field, Real-Time Imaging of Local and Systemic Wound Signals in Arabidopsis
Published on: June 4, 2021
GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE genes mediate leaf-to-leaf wound signalling
Seyed A R Mousavi1, Adeline Chauvin, François Pascaud
1Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, Biophore, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nature
|August 24, 2013
Summary
Wounded plant leaves signal damage using electrical signals, which trigger defense responses. Specific glutamate receptor-like genes (GLRs) are crucial for this long-distance wound communication.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Wounded leaves transmit damage signals to undamaged parts via long-distance signaling.
- This signaling pathway involves the production of jasmonates, key regulators of plant defense mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biophysical mechanisms underlying long-distance wound signaling in plants.
- To identify genetic components involved in the transmission of wound signals and subsequent defense responses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized non-invasive electrodes to map surface potential changes in Arabidopsis thaliana after leaf wounding.
- Measured jasmonoyl-isoleucine accumulation and analyzed transcriptome changes in response to current injection.
- Screened 34 membrane protein mutant lines, focusing on GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE (GLR) genes.
Main Results:
- Wound-induced membrane depolarizations in undamaged leaves correlated with jasmonate signaling domains.
- Current injection stimulated jasmonoyl-isoleucine accumulation and altered gene expression related to jasmonate signaling.
- Mutations in GLR3.2, GLR3.3, and GLR3.6 genes reduced wound-induced surface potential changes, with glr3.3 glr3.6 mutants showing decreased jasmonate-response gene expression in distal leaves.
Conclusions:
- This study provides a genetic basis for understanding plant long-distance wound signaling.
- Identified plant GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE genes as critical players in organ-to-organ wound communication, analogous to animal synaptic activity genes.
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