A geographic cline in leaf salicylic acid with increasing elevation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Salicylic acid (SA) occupies a key role as a hormone central to both plant resistance to bacterial pathogens and tolerance of abiotic stresses. Plants at high elevation experience colder temperatures and elevated UV levels. While it has been predicted that SA concentrations will be higher in plants from high elevation populations, few studies have addressed this question. Here, we asked how concentrations of SA vary in natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana collected across an elevational gradient on the Iberian Peninsula. In a series of common garden experiments, we found that constitutive SA concentrations were highest in genotypes from the low elevation populations. This result was in the opposite direction from our prediction and is an exception to the general finding that phenolic compounds increase with increasing elevation. These data suggest that high constitutive SA is not associated with resistance to cold temperatures in these plants. Furthermore, we also found that leaf constitutive camalexin concentrations, an important defense against some bacterial and fungal enemies, were highest in the low elevation populations, suggesting that pathogen pressures may be important. Further examination of this elevational cline will likely provide additional insights into the interplay between phenolic compounds and biotic and abiotic stress.