Exogenous jasmonic acid induces stress tolerance in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) exposed to imazapic.

Jasmonic acid (JA) is one of the important phytohormones, regulating the stress responses as well as plant growth and development. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of exogenous JA application on stress responses of tobacco plant exposed to imazapic. In this study, phytotoxic responses resulting from both imazapic and imazapic combined with JA treatment are investigated comparatively for tobacco plants. For plants treated with imazapic at different concentrations (0.030, 0.060 and 0.120mM), antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione reductase), carotenoids, glutathione and malondialdehyte (MDA) contents, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and indole-3-acetic acid levels as well as herbicide residue amounts on leaves increased in general compared to the control group. In the plants treated with 45µM jasmonic acid, pigment content, antioxidant activity and phytohormone level increased whereas MDA content and the amount of herbicidal residue decreased compared to the non-treated plants. Our findings show that imazapic treatment induces some phytotoxic responses on tobacco leaves and that exogenous jasmonic acid treatment alleviates the negative effects of herbicide treatment by regulating these responses.