Involvement of the Electrophilic Isothiocyanate Sulforaphane in Arabidopsis Local Defense Responses

• Published in: Plant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 167; no. 1; pp. 251 - 261
• Main Authors: Andersson, Mats X., Nilsson, Anders K., Johansson, Oskar N., Boztas, Gülin, Adolfsson, Lisa E., Pinosa, Francesco, Petit, Christel Garcia, Aronsson, Henrik, Mackey, David, Tör, Mahmut, Hamberg, Mats, Ellerström, Mats
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society of Plant Biologists 01-01-2015
• Subjects: ACQUIRED-RESISTANCE; American culture; Arabidopsis - physiology; Bathing; Biology; Botanik; Botany; Cell Death - physiology; CELL-DEATH; DISEASE RESISTANCE RESPONSES; DOWNY MILDEW RESISTANCE; GLUCOSINOLATE ACCUMULATION; Glucosinolates; GLUTATHIONE; HYPERSENSITIVE RESPONSE; Isothiocyanates; Isothiocyanates - metabolism; Leaves; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; NB-LRR GENES; Pathogens; Plant cells; PLANT IMMUNITY; Plant Immunity - physiology; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plant Leaves - physiology; Plant Sciences; Plants; SECONDARY METABOLITES; SIGNALING AND RESPONSE
• ISSN: 0032-0889; 1532-2548; 1532-2548
• DOI: 10.1104/pp.114.251892

Plants defend themselves against microbial pathogens through a range of highly sophisticated and integrated molecular systems. Recognition of pathogen-secreted effector proteins often triggers the hypersensitive response (HR), a complex multicellular defense reaction where programmed cell death of cells surrounding the primary site of infection is a prominent feature. Even though the HR was described almost a century ago, cell-to-cell factors acting at the local level generating the full defense reaction have remained obscure. In this study, we sought to identify diffusible molecules produced during the HR that could induce cell death in naive tissue. We found that 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate (sulforaphane) is released by Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaf tissue undergoing the HR and that this compound induces cell death as well as primes defense in naive tissue. Two different mutants impaired in the pathogen-induced accumulation of sulforaphane displayed attenuated programmed cell death upon bacterial and oomycete effector recognition as well as decreased resistance to several isolates of the plant pathogenHyaloperonospora arabidopsidis.Treatment with sulforaphane provided protection against a virulentH. arabidopsidisisolate. Glucosinolate breakdown products are recognized as antifeeding compounds toward insects and recently also as intracellular signaling and bacteriostatic molecules in Arabidopsis. The data presented here indicate that these compounds also trigger local defense responses in Arabidopsis tissue.