Marco Landi1,2, Fabrizio Araniti3, Guido Flamini4, Ermes Lo Piccolo5, Alice Trivellini6, Maria Rosa Abenavoli3, Lucia Guidi5,7. 1. Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy. marco.landi@unipi.it. 2. CIRSEC, Centre for Climatic Change Impact, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy. marco.landi@unipi.it. 3. Department of Agraria, University 'Mediterranea' of Reggio Calabria, località Feo di Vito, 89122, Reggio Calabria, RC, Italy. 4. Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno Pisano 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy. 5. Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy. 6. Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via Santa Cecilia 3, 56127, Pisa, Italy. 7. CIRSEC, Centre for Climatic Change Impact, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
Abstract
MAIN CONCLUSION: Salinity alters VOC profile in emitter sweet basil plants. Airborne signals by emitter plants promote earlier flowering of receivers and increase their reproductive success under salinity. Airborne signals can prime neighboring plants against pathogen and/or herbivore attacks, whilst little is known about the possibility that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by stressed plants alert neighboring plants against abiotic stressors. Salt stress (50 mM NaCl) was imposed on Ocimum basilicum L. plants (emitters, namely NaCl), and a putative alerting-priming interaction was tested on neighboring basil plants (receivers, namely NaCl-S). Compared with the receivers, the NaCl plants exhibited reduced biomass, lower photosynthesis, and changes in the VOC profile, which are common early responses of plants to salinity. In contrast, NaCl-S plants had physiological parameters similar to those of nonsalted plants (C), but exhibited a different VOC fingerprint, which overlapped, for most compounds, with that of emitters. NaCl-S plants exposed later to NaCl treatment (namely NaCl-S + NaCl) exhibited changes in the VOC profile, earlier plant senescence, earlier flowering, and higher seed yield than C + NaCl plants. This experiment offers the evidence that (1) NaCl-triggered VOCs promote metabolic changes in NaCl-S plants, which, finally, increase reproductive success and (2) the differences in VOC profiles observed between emitters and receivers subjected to salinity raise the question whether the receivers are able to "propagate" the warning signal triggered by VOCs in neighboring companions.
MAIN CONCLUSION: Salinity alters VOC profile in emitter sweet basil plants. Airborne signals by emitter plants promote earlier flowering of receivers and increase their reproductive success under salinity. Airborne signals can prime neighboring plants against pathogen and/or herbivore attacks, whilst little is known about the possibility that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by stressed plants alert neighboring plants against abiotic stressors. Salt stress (50 mM NaCl) was imposed on Ocimum basilicum L. plants (emitters, namely NaCl), and a putative alerting-priming interaction was tested on neighboring basil plants (receivers, namely NaCl-S). Compared with the receivers, the NaCl plants exhibited reduced biomass, lower photosynthesis, and changes in the VOC profile, which are common early responses of plants to salinity. In contrast, NaCl-S plants had physiological parameters similar to those of nonsalted plants (C), but exhibited a different VOC fingerprint, which overlapped, for most compounds, with that of emitters. NaCl-S plants exposed later to NaCl treatment (namely NaCl-S + NaCl) exhibited changes in the VOC profile, earlier plant senescence, earlier flowering, and higher seed yield than C + NaCl plants. This experiment offers the evidence that (1) NaCl-triggered VOCs promote metabolic changes in NaCl-S plants, which, finally, increase reproductive success and (2) the differences in VOC profiles observed between emitters and receivers subjected to salinity raise the question whether the receivers are able to "propagate" the warning signal triggered by VOCs in neighboring companions.
Entities:
Keywords:
Airborne signal; Emitter; Infochemical; Plant–plant communication; Receiver; Salt stress
Authors: Alejandra A Covarrubias; Cesar L Cuevas-Velazquez; Paulette S Romero-Pérez; David F Rendón-Luna; Caspar C C Chater Journal: Cell Mol Life Sci Date: 2017-06-22 Impact factor: 9.261
Authors: Nicolas Bouché; Aaron Fait; David Bouchez; Simon G Møller; Hillel Fromm Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2003-05-09 Impact factor: 11.205