PLANT PHYSIOLOGY , Vol 112, Issue 1 131-140, Copyright © 1996 by American Society of Plant Biologists
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PLANT-MICROBE AND PLANT-INSECT INTERACTIONS |
Biphasic Temporal and Spatial Induction Patterns of Defense-Related mRNAs and Proteins in Fungus-Infected Parsley Leaves
S. Reinold and K. Hahlbrock
Max-Planck-Institut fur Zuchtungsforschung, Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, D-50829 Koln, Germany
Previous experiments using in situ RNA hybridization have shown that the
mRNAs encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase,
and pathogenesis-related protein 1 accumulated transiently around fungal
infection sites in parsley (Petroselinum crispum) leaf buds. These studies
have now been extended by (a) analyzing different stages of the infection
process and (b) monitoring the timing of appearance and the spatial
distribution of the proteins as well as the corresponding mRNAs. An early
and short period of mRNA induction throughout a large portion of the
infected leaf was followed by a longer period, during which the mRNA levels
remained high in a more localized area around the site of fungal
penetration with sharp borders toward the surrounding tissue. This biphasic
pattern of mRNA accumulation was followed after some delay by the same
pattern of protein accumulation.