Molecular analysis of menadione‐induced resistance against biotic stress in Arabidopsis

Abstract

SummaryMenadione sodium bisulphite (MSB) is a water-soluble derivative of vitamin K3, or menadione, and has been previously demonstrated to function as a plant defence activator against several pathogens in several plant species. However, there are no reports of the role of this vitamin in the induction of resistance in the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana. In the current study, we demonstrate that MSB induces resistance by priming in Arabidopsis against the virulent strain Pseudomonas syringae pv.tomato DC3000 (Pto) without inducing necrosis or visible damage. Changes in gene expression in response to 0.2 mM MSB were analysed in Arabidopsis at 3, 6 and 24 h post-treatment using microarray technology. In general, the treatment with MSB does not correlate with other publicly available data, thus MSB produces a unique molecular footprint. We observed 158 differentially regulated genes among all the possible trends. More up-regulated genes are included in categories such as 'response to stress' than the background, and the behaviour of these genes in different treatments confirms their role in response to biotic and abiotic stress. In addition, there is an over-representation of the G-box in their promoters. Some interesting functions are represented among the individual up-regulated genes, such as glutathione S-transferases, transcription factors (including putative regulators of the G-box) and cytochrome P450s. This work provides a wide insight into the molecular cues underlying the effect of MSB as a plant resistance inducer.

Vitamin K 3 Induces the Expression of the Stenotrophomonas maltophilia SmeVWX Multidrug Efflux Pump

“…vitK3 is also known as menadione, a compound that has been isolated from fungi and phanerogams (35), where it was first studied as a plant regulator (36). The function of menadione in the defense against plant pathogens has been shown in several studies (37)(38)(39). This contribution can be carried out in two ways: first, vitK3 is able to increase the activity of the H ϩ -ATPase in plant cells due to its redox properties, contributing to the immune response against phytopathogens (40,41); second, vitK3 itself is toxic for bacteria as a result of its capability of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), elevating the intracellular production of O 2 Ϫ and H 2 O 2 (42).…”

Dissecting Phosphite-Induced Priming in Arabidopsis Infected withHyaloperonospora arabidopsidis

“…Similarly, treatments with natural or synthetic compounds enhance resistance responses only after pathogen challenge. Treatment of plants with SA, riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine (vitamin B1), menadione, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid, benzo(1,2,3,)thiadiazole-7-carbothioc acid S-methyl ester (BTH), the nonprotein amino acid b-aminobutyric acid (BABA), or phosphite (Phi) has been shown to prime defenses for augmented responses to pathogens (Kauss et al, 1992;Kauss and Jeblick, 1995;Katz et al, 1998;Zimmerli et al, 2000;Ahn et al, 2007;Borges et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2009;Eshraghi et al, 2011). Numerous studies have attempted to decipher the molecular components of defense priming (Zimmerli et al, 2000;Kohler et al, 2002;Ton et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2009).…”

Priming effect of menadione sodium bisulphite against salinity stress in Arabidopsis involves epigenetic changes in genes controlling proline metabolism

“…Indeed, menadione has been used as an oxidant agent in a variety of organisms, including plants (Sun et al, 1999). Our research group has demonstrated that MSB activates the expression of many genes related to ROS detoxification in Arabidopsis (Borges et al, 2009). Hence, the oxidant activity of menadione is probably involved in the ability of MSB to promote stable epigenetic modifications in seed embryos that would be responsible for tolerance to salinity stress exhibited by adult plants.…”

“…Relative quantification of mRNA levels was carried out as described by (Borges et al, 2009). Each experimental time-point was analysed as four independent biological replicas, each from 100 mg leaf samples.…”

“…In this context, our research group has demonstrated the properties of menadione sodium bisulphite (MSB) as priming elicitor. MSB is a water-soluble addition compound derived from vitamin K3 that can induce priming against biotic and abiotic stress (Borges et al, 2009;Jime'nez-Arias et al, 2015). Interestingly, soaking A. thaliana seeds in MSB establishes a priming mark that confers higher tolerance to salt stress on adult plants, specifically by inducing a faster accumulation of proline (Jime'nez-Arias et al, 2015).…”