Reassessing the role of phospholipase D in the Arabidopsis wounding response

Responses of phospholipase D and lipoxygenase to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber fruits

This study was to investigate the responses of phospholipase D (PLD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Biyu-2) fruits. Membrane-associated Ca2+ content, activities and gene expression of PLD and LOX, and contents of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidic acid (PA) were determined in cucumber fruits following mechanical wounding. Results show that PLD and LOX activities increased with the PLD and LOX mRNAs which are upregulated upon wounding, while membrane-associated Ca2+ content decreased. Accompanying with the increase of PLD and LOX activities, accumulation of PA and losses of PC and PI were observed in all fruits, but there were differences of degrees between wounded and control fruits. Results suggest that PLD and LOX might be the main hydrolytic enzymes of phospholipids in postharvest cucumber fruits participating in the mechanical wounding injury. The activation of PLD and LOX might be the result of gene expression, which could be stimulated by the Ca2+ flowing from the membrane to the cytoplasm upon receiving the wounding signals.

Phosphatidic acid formation is required for extracellular ATP-mediated nitric oxide production in suspension-cultured tomato cells

*In animals and plants, extracellular ATP exerts its effects by regulating the second messengers Ca(2+), nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In animals, phospholipid-derived molecules, such as diacylglycerol, phosphatidic acid (PA) and inositol phosphates, have been associated with the extracellular ATP signaling pathway. The involvement of phospholipids in extracellular ATP signaling in plants, as it is established in animals, is unknown. *In vivo phospholipid signaling upon extracellular ATP treatment was studied in (32)P(i)-labeled suspension-cultured tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cells. *Here, we report that, in suspension-cultured tomato cells, extracellular ATP induces the formation of the signaling lipid phosphatidic acid. Exogenous ATP at doses of 0.1 and 1 mM induce the formation of phosphatidic acid within minutes. Studies on the enzymatic sources of phosphatidic acid revealed the participation of both phospholipase D and C in concerted action with diacylglycerol kinase. *Our results suggest that extracellular ATP-mediated nitric oxide production is downstream of phospholipase C/diacylglycerol kinase activation.