Is Exogenous Fatty Acid Hydroperoxide Perception as Elicitor Related to
Modulation of Plant Plasma Membrane Structure ?
Abstract
Oxylipins are lipid-derived molecules that are ubiquitous in eukaryotes
and whose functions in plant physiology have been widely reported. They
appear to play a major role in plant immunity by orchestrating reactive
oxygen species (ROS) and hormone-dependent signalling pathways. The
present work focuses on the specific case of fatty acid hydroperoxides
(HPOs). Although some studies report their potential use as exogenous
biocontrol agents for plant protection, evaluation of their efficiency
in planta is lacking and no information is available about their
mechanism of action. In this work, the potential of
13(S)-hydroperoxyoctadeca-(9Z,11E)-dienoic acid (13-HPOD) and
13(S)-hydroperoxy-(9Z,11E,15Z)-octadecatrienoic acid (13-HPOT), as plant
defence elicitors and the underlying mechanism of action are
investigated. Arabidopsis thaliana leaf resistance to Botrytis cinerea
was observed after root application with HPOs. They also activate early
immunity-related defence responses, like ROS. As previous studies have
demonstrated their ability to interact with plant plasma membranes
(PPM), we have further investigated the effects of HPOs on biomimetic
PPM structure using complementary biophysics tools. Results show that
HPO insertion into PPM impacts its global structure without solubilizing
it. Relationship between biological assays and biophysical analysis
suggests that lipid amphiphilic elicitors that directly act on membrane
lipids might trigger early plant defence events