Role of methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid in kiwifruit plants further subjected to Psa infection: biochemical and genetic responses.

The use of plant elicitors for controlling Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), the etiological agent of the kiwifruit bacterial canker (KBC), has been analysed in the past and, while salicylic acid (SA) seems to decrease disease susceptibility, methyl jasmonate (MJ) shows an opposite effect. However, the metabolic and genomic responses of Psa-infected plants following elicitation with these two compounds, as compared with non-elicited Psa-inoculated plants, are poorly understood, being the focus of this study. Micropropagated A. chinensis 'Hayward' plants were elicited with MJ or SA, and further inoculated with Psa. Fifteen days post-inoculation, Psa population in MJ-treated plants was increased by 7.4-fold, whereas SA elicitation led to decreased Psa colonization (0.5-fold), as compared with non-elicited inoculated plants. Additionally, elicitation with MJ or SA generally decreased polyphenols and lignin concentrations (by at least 20%) and increased total proteins (by at least 50%). MJ led to the upregulation of SOD, involved in plant antioxidant system, and reporter genes for the jasmonic acid (JA) (JIH and LOX1), abscisic acid (SnRK), SA (ICS1), and ethylene (ACAS1, ETR1 and SAM) pathways. Moreover, it increased ABA (40%) and decreased carotenoids (30%) concentrations. Contrastingly, comparing with non-elicited Psa-inoculated plants, SA application resulted in the downregulation of antioxidant system-related genes (SOD and APX) and of reporter genes for ethylene (ETR1) and JA (JIH and ETR1). This study contributes to the understanding of potential mechanisms involved in kiwifruit plant defences against Psa, highlighting the role of the JA, ABA and ethylene in plant susceptibility to the pathogen.

Modelling of temperature-controlled internode elongation applied to chrysanthemum.

The DIF concept states that equal internode length can be achieved with the same difference between day and night temperature irrespective of the mean 24 h temperature. However, the physiological background of the DIF concept is unclear. An attempt to model internode elongation is presented based on three plausible processes, namely (1) the accumulation of elongation requirements during the day, (2) elongation during the night using elongation requirements and (3) the limitation of internode length due to low turgor pressure unable to counter cell wall elasticity. Each reaction rate constant, one per process, depends on temperature according to Arrhenius' Law. The resulting process-based model describes internode elongation in time and was calibrated on a chrysanthemum data set. Chrysanthemum plants were grown in growth chambers with rigorously defined day and night temperatures. In total, 16 temperature treatments were applied, resulting from the combination of four day and four night temperatures (16, 20, 24 and 28 degrees C). Internode elongation was measured for the tenth internode in ten plants per treatment. The percentage variance accounted for, R2adj, was almost 91%. Transferability of model parameters was shown to exist by cross validation. Simulation of the internode length in time as function of mean 24 h temperature and DIF showed that the DIF concept is not apparent after a growing period of 10 d, but is visible after 20 d. This model structure for describing internode elongation might also be applicable for other plants that show the DIF concept.

Effect of day and night temperature on internode and stem length in chrysanthemum: is everything explained by DIF?

In many plant species, including chrysanthemum, a strong positive correlation between internode length and DIF [difference between day (DT) and night (NT) temperature] has been observed. However, Langton and Cockshull (1997. Scientia Horticulturae 69: 229-237) reported no such relationship and showed that absolute DT and NT explained internode length rather than DIF. To investigate these conflicting results and to clarify the validity of the DIF concept, cut chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum 'Reagan Improved') were grown in growth chambers at all 16 combinations of four DT and four NT (16, 20, 24 and 28 degrees C) with a 12 h day length. Length of internode 10, number of internodes and stem length were measured on days 5, 10, 17, 22 and 27 after starting the temperature treatments. Internode length on day 10 showed a positive linear relationship with DIF (R2 = 0.64). However, when internodes had reached their final length in all treatments (day 27), a much stronger positive linear relation was observed (R2 = 0.81). A model to predict final internode length was developed based on the absolute DT and NT responses: both responses were optimum curves and no significant interaction between DT and NT occurred [final internode length (mm) = -32.23 + 3.56DT + 1.08NT - 0.0687DT2 - 0.0371NT2; R2 = 0.91, where TD is day temperature and TN is night temperature]. It is shown that DIF can predict final internode length only within a temperature range where effects of DT and NT are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign (18-24 degrees C). Internode appearance rate, as well as stem length formed during the experiment, showed an optimum response to DT.