In response to herbivore (Spodoptera littoralis) attack, lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) leaves produced hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in concentrations that were higher when compared to mechanically damaged (MD) leaves. Cellular and subcellular localization analyses revealed that H 2 O 2 was mainly localized in MD and herbivore-wounded (HW) zones and spread throughout the veins and tissues. Preferentially, H 2 O 2 was found in cell walls of spongy and mesophyll cells facing intercellular spaces, even though confocal laser scanning microscopy analyses also revealed the presence of H 2 O 2 in mitochondria/peroxisomes. Increased gene and enzyme activations of superoxide dismutase after HW were in agreement with confocal laser scanning microscopy data. After MD, additional application of H 2 O 2 prompted a transient transmembrane potential (V m ) depolarization, with a V m depolarization rate that was higher when compared to HW leaves. In transgenic soybean (Glycine max) suspension cells expressing the Ca 21 -sensing aequorin system, increasing amounts of added H 2 O 2 correlated with a higher cytosolic calcium ([Ca 21 ] cyt ) concentration. In MD and HW leaves, H 2 O 2 also triggered the increase of [Ca 21 ] cyt , but MD-elicited [Ca 21 ] cyt increase was more pronounced when compared to HW leaves after addition of exogenous H 2 O 2 . The results clearly indicate that V m depolarization caused by HW makes the membrane potential more positive and reduces the ability of lima bean leaves to react to signaling molecules.

BackgroundPlant Ca2+ signals are involved in a wide array of intracellular signaling pathways after pest invasion. Ca2+-binding sensory proteins such as Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) have been predicted to mediate the signaling following Ca2+ influx after insect herbivory. However, until now this prediction was not testable.ResultsTo investigate the roles CPKs play in a herbivore response-signaling pathway, we screened the characteristics of Arabidopsis CPK mutants damaged by a feeding generalist herbivore, Spodoptera littoralis. Following insect attack, the cpk3 and cpk13 mutants showed lower transcript levels of plant defensin gene PDF1.2 compared to wild-type plants. The CPK cascade was not directly linked to the herbivory-induced signaling pathways that were mediated by defense-related phytohormones such as jasmonic acid and ethylene. CPK3 was also suggested to be involved in a negative feedback regulation of the cytosolic Ca2+ levels after herbivory and wounding damage. In vitro kinase assays of CPK3 protein with a suite of substrates demonstrated that the protein phosphorylates transcription factors (including ERF1, HsfB2a and CZF1/ZFAR1) in the presence of Ca2+. CPK13 strongly phosphorylated only HsfB2a, irrespective of the presence of Ca2+. Furthermore, in vivo agroinfiltration assays showed that CPK3-or CPK13-derived phosphorylation of a heat shock factor (HsfB2a) promotes PDF1.2 transcriptional activation in the defense response.ConclusionsThese results reveal the involvement of two Arabidopsis CPKs (CPK3 and CPK13) in the herbivory-induced signaling network via HsfB2a-mediated regulation of the defense-related transcriptional machinery. This cascade is not involved in the phytohormone-related signaling pathways, but rather directly impacts transcription factors for defense responses.