Cucumber (Cucumis sativa) leaves infiltrated with Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae cells produced a mobile signal for systemic acquired resistance between 3 and 6 h after inoculation. The production of a mobile signal by inoculated leaves was followed by a transient increase in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity in the petioles of inoculated leaves and in stems above inoculated leaves; with peaks in activity at 9 and 12 h, respectively, after inoculation. In contrast, PAL activity in inoculated leaves continued to rise slowly for at least 18 h. No increases in PAL activity were detected in healthy leaves of inoculated plants. Two benzoic acid derivatives, salicylic acid (SA) and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4HBA), began to accumulate in phloem fluids at about the time PAL activity began to increase, reaching maximum concentrations 15 h after inoculation. The accumulation of SA and 4HBA in phloem fluids was unaffected by the removal of all leaves 6 h after inoculation, and seedlings excised from roots prior to inoculation still accumulated high levels of SA and 4HBA. These results suggest that SA and 4HBA are synthesized de novo in stems and petioles in response to a mobile signal from the inoculated leaf.

The isolation and structure determination of two bacterial signal molecules which elicit active plant defense responses are reported. The production of these molecules by Gram-negative bacteria requires the action of avirulence gene D (avrD), cloned from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. The structures of syringolide 1 (la) and syringolide 2 (lb) are determined by a combination of NMR experiments, biosynthetic arguments, molecular modeling, and X-ray crystallography. A proposed biosynthetic scheme based on the condensation of D-xylulose with a d-ketoalkanoic acid is presented. Further cyclization of the biosynthetic intermediates leads to C-glycosides with a novel tricyclic ring system. These are the first nonproteinaceous specific elicitors of a plant hypersensitive response.

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