Abstract
Jasmonates, together with other plant hormones, are important orchestrators of the plant immune system. The different hormone-controlled signaling pathways cross-communicate in an antagonistic or a synergistic manner, providing the plant with a powerful capacity to finely regulate its immune response. Jasmonic acid (JA) signaling is required for plant resistance to harmful organisms, such as necrotrophic pathogens and herbivorous insects. Furthermore, JA signaling is essential in interactions of plants with beneficial microbes that induce systemic resistance to pathogens and insects. The role of JA signaling components in plant immunity can be studied by performing bioassays with different interacting organisms. Determination of the level of resistance and the induction of defense responses in plants with altered JA components, through mutation or ectopic expression, will unveil novel mechanisms of JA signaling. We provide detailed protocols of bioassays with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana challenged with the pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Pseudomonas syringae, the insect herbivore Pieris rapae, and the beneficial microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens. In addition, we describe pharmacological assays to study the modulation of JA-regulated responses by exogenous application of combinations of hormones, because a simultaneous rise in hormone levels occurs during interaction of plants with other organisms.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank other (previous) members of the laboratory who have contributed to developing the foregoing protocols. The authors are supported by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (VICI grant no. 865.04.002 and VIDI grant no. 11281) and a European Research Council Advanced Grant (no. 269072).
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Van Wees, S.C.M., Van Pelt, J.A., Bakker, P.A.H.M., Pieterse, C.M.J. (2013). Bioassays for Assessing Jasmonate-Dependent Defenses Triggered by Pathogens, Herbivorous Insects, or Beneficial Rhizobacteria. In: Goossens, A., Pauwels, L. (eds) Jasmonate Signaling. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1011. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-414-2_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-414-2_4
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