Glutathionylation and Reduction of Methacrolein in Tomato Plants Account for Its Absorption from the Vapor Phase.

A large portion of the volatile organic compounds emitted by plants are oxygenated to yield reactive carbonyl species, which have a big impact on atmospheric chemistry. Deposition to vegetation driven by the absorption of reactive carbonyl species into plants plays a major role in cleansing the atmosphere, but the mechanisms supporting this absorption have been little examined. Here, we performed model experiments using methacrolein (MACR), one of the major reactive carbonyl species formed from isoprene, and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. Tomato shoots enclosed in a jar with MACR vapor efficiently absorbed MACR. The absorption efficiency was much higher than expected from the gas/liquid partition coefficient of MACR, indicating that MACR was likely metabolized in leaf tissues. Isobutyraldehyde, isobutyl alcohol, and methallyl alcohol (MAA) were detected in the headspace and inside tomato tissues treated with MACR vapor, suggesting that MACR was enzymatically reduced. Glutathione (GSH) conjugates of MACR (MACR-GSH) and MAA (MAA-GSH) were also detected. MACR-GSH was essentially formed through spontaneous conjugation between endogenous GSH and exogenous MACR, and reduction of MACR-GSH to MAA-GSH was likely catalyzed by an NADPH-dependent enzyme in tomato leaves. Glutathionylation was the metabolic pathway most responsible for the absorption of MACR, but when the amount of MACR exceeded the available GSH, MACR that accumulated reduced photosynthetic capacity. In an experiment simulating the natural environment using gas flow, MACR-GSH and MAA-GSH accumulation accounted for 30% to 40% of the MACR supplied. These results suggest that MACR metabolism, especially spontaneous glutathionylation, is an essential factor supporting MACR absorption from the atmosphere by tomato plants.

Intake and transformation to a glycoside of (Z)-3-hexenol from infested neighbors reveals a mode of plant odor reception and defense.

Plants receive volatile compounds emitted by neighboring plants that are infested by herbivores, and consequently the receiver plants begin to defend against forthcoming herbivory. However, to date, how plants receive volatiles and, consequently, how they fortify their defenses, is largely unknown. In this study, we found that undamaged tomato plants exposed to volatiles emitted by conspecifics infested with common cutworms (exposed plants) became more defensive against the larvae than those exposed to volatiles from uninfested conspecifics (control plants) in a constant airflow system under laboratory conditions. Comprehensive metabolite analyses showed that only the amount of (Z)-3-hexenylvicianoside (HexVic) was higher in exposed than control plants. This compound negatively affected the performance of common cutworms when added to an artificial diet. The aglycon of HexVic, (Z)-3-hexenol, was obtained from neighboring infested plants via the air. The amount of jasmonates (JAs) was not higher in exposed plants, and HexVic biosynthesis was independent of JA signaling. The use of (Z)-3-hexenol from neighboring damaged conspecifics for HexVic biosynthesis in exposed plants was also observed in an experimental field, indicating that (Z)-3-hexenol intake occurred even under fluctuating environmental conditions. Specific use of airborne (Z)-3-hexenol to form HexVic in undamaged tomato plants reveals a previously unidentified mechanism of plant defense.