1. Introduction
Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a ubiquitous group of plant compounds that have been known for more than 100 years [
1]. However, while originally considered to be metabolic shunt, they have come to our attention as potent inducers of plant-protective measures, covering both microbes and herbivores [
2,
3]. In more recent years they have further been found to also protect against a range of abiotic stresses including drought, cold, high light, and heat [
4]. Common to all these threats is that they can cause significant damage to the plant, which is also the main contributor to the production and release of GLV.
The biosynthesis of GLVs starts with a lipoxygenase (LOX), which inserts molecular oxygen into a fatty acid, in case of GLV in position 13 [
5,
6]. While this can be a free fatty acid, it has been demonstrated that lipid-bound fatty acid can also serve as a substrate [
7]. The hydroperoxyl fatty acid, which is usually linolenic or linoleic acid, is then further processed by a hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) and cleaved into a 6-carbon unit and a 12-carbon unit. While the 12-carbon unit can be transformed into traumatin (
12-oxo-trans-10-dodecenoic acid) [
8], the 6-carbon unit, which is either Z-3-hexenal (Z3al, from linolenic acid) or hexanal (Hal, from linoleic acid), represents the first GLV compound in the pathway. Z3al in particular can be produced in large quantities from damaged plant tissue, while Hal is usually a minor compound [
9]. Both can be further processed into the corresponding alcohols by an alcohol dehydrogenase and eventually esters thereof by an acetyl transferase [
5,
6]. Some plants also have an isomerase, which converts Z3al into E-2-hexenal (E2al) [
10,
11]. E2al can also be reduced to the corresponding alcohol and esterified [
5,
6]. The productions of the aldehydes including the isomerase reaction occurs in damaged tissues, while the biosynthesis of the alcohols and esters requires intact cells [
12].
However, GLVs are also released from undamaged plants under certain biotic and abiotic stresses. For example, it was shown that drought and high temperatures can cause the release of significant amounts of these compounds from intact plants, which are therefore mainly found in the form of the corresponding alcohols and esters [
13]. Others have observed a burst of GLVs from intact plants right after the onset of darkness, again mainly as the alcohols and esters [
14,
15]. Also, plants experiencing either insect herbivory or pathogen infections often release GLVs from distal or systemic undamaged parts, although usually with some delay [
16].
To date no receptors for GLVs have been identified. However, progress has been made in the characterization of signaling events activated by these compounds. Several signaling pathways related to GLV activities have already been elucidated. Among those were rapid changes in membrane potential and altered cytosolic Ca
2+ levels. An array of transcription factors that are induced by exposure to GLVs have been identified [
19,
20,
21]. It is however unclear if these are GLV-specific and what the downstream targets are. Most recently, in tomato (
Solanum lycopersicum), a MAP kinase pathway was characterized that responded to GLV treatment [
22]. Interestingly, the same MAP kinase pathway is also recruited upon pathogen infection. Z-3-hexenol (Z3ol) can also be conjugated to other cellular molecules, in particular sugars [
2]. Several different forms of this conjugation have been identified and were also shown to have anti-herbivore properties [
23]. Also, GLV-glycosides can easily become hydrolyzed to release Z3ol again. Treatment with Z-3-hexenyl acetate (Z3ac) also results in the formation of these glycosides, implying that Z3ac first has to be cleaved into Z3ol before conjugation. This further suggests that Z3ol may also be the active compound among the GLVs, which was confirmed by [
24] in showing that mutations in the hydrolyzing enzymes reduced the activity of Z3ac significantly. In contrast, E2al has been found to become conjugated to glutathione as a detoxification mechanism rather than being a storage product [
25].
Since physical damage to green plant tissues can cause the production and release of these compounds almost instantly, they are ideal volatile messengers to report the damage to distant, yet undamaged parts of the same plant, as well as to other plants nearby. There, they may alert these to the possibility of impending damage [
2]. Adding to this is the ability of many plants to produce large quantities of GLVs, which may reach several µg per gram fresh weight [
9]. GLVs can further be produced in different isomers. While some plants mainly produce the
Z-3 isomers, other produce predominantly the
E-2 isomers [
9]. And even within one plant species the quality and quantity of produced GLVs can vary significantly depending on environmental factors and developmental stages [
26]. This diversity of GLV production and release contributes to the complexity of their biology and implies that ecophysiological factors may have played an important role in the evolutionary shaping of GLV activities [
9].
Common to the events that cause the release of GLVs is the association with tissue damage. Therefore, the starting point for the biosynthesis of GLV lies within the damaged tissue itself with Z3al being the first product of the pathway. This implies a mechanism that allows LOX (for maize LOX10 [
27]) and HPL (for maize [
28]) enzymes in particular to become active in damaged cells, either by eliminating spatial separation normally found in intact cells, or by changing the general reaction conditions. Also, within the damaged tissue both enzymes need access to their substrates, which can either be found in the form of vesicles, individual lipids, or free fatty acids [2, 5, 6, 7]. However, little is known about these processes. We therefore started an investigation with the aim to identify factors that may help to facilitate the rapid production of Z3al as the first distinct compound of the pathway. Multiple parameters like pH, specific ions, pharmacological inhibitors, as well as the presence or absence of polar and unpolar components were investigated. Furthermore, we performed a proteomics analysis of thylakoid membranes isolated from maize chloroplasts and stroma to determine the major location of LOX10 and HPL. Together, a picture emerges that helps to explain how plants may regulate GLV production in damaged tissues without the constraints of strict spatial separation.
3. Summary
The co-localization of LOX10 and HPL in thylakoids was confirmed by a proteomics approach with isolated thylakoid membranes. Aside from a yet to be characterized lipase no other proteins not involved in photosynthesis were detected.
Damaged maize leaf tissues provide an optimized environment for the production of GLVs through their acidic pH, which allows them to serve as a volatile signal for other parts of the plant or even plants nearby. This can provide far-reaching protection for those plants against damaging stresses including herbivory and pathogen infections [
2], and a great variety of abiotic stresses like cold, drought, and light [
4]. For insect herbivores, the strong dependency of Z3al-biosynthesis in damaged maize leaves on an acidic environment provides another path towards blocking the production of GLV. Since most insect herbivores appear to have a very basic pH in their spit and gut system, this may add to their arsenal of countermeasures aimed towards a reduction in GLV biosynthesis and thus, eliminating a signal that eavesdropping plants nearby could use to prime their defenses.
While Ca
2+ clearly affects the production of Z3al we have no further evidence for potential Ca
2+-binding sites on either protein. This makes it unlikely for Ca
2 to act as a regulator for the association of LOX10 or HPL to membranes or for the activation of any one of those enzymes. However, Ca
2+ has been found to be involved in the regulation of membrane assembly [
57] and we may therefore speculate that Ca
2+ may instead assist in the assembly of hydrophobic structures or complexes that allow LOX10 and HPL to have access to more substrates
Adding free fatty acids to the reaction stimulates the biosynthesis of Z3al in damaged plant tissue. But while some fatty acids like γ-LnA may also serve as a substrate, results with stearic acid clearly demonstrate that the abundance rather than substrate availability is a factor that determines the effectiveness of the Z3al producing system. This is further supported by the effect of Triton X100, which as a detergent would disrupt these hydrophobic complexes.
Figure 6.
Effects of Ca2+, fatty acids, and high salt concentrations on the production of Z-3-hexenal (Z3al). Rings of different colors indicate membranes from different sources which can still contribute to the production of Z-3-hexenal in this model.
Figure 6.
Effects of Ca2+, fatty acids, and high salt concentrations on the production of Z-3-hexenal (Z3al). Rings of different colors indicate membranes from different sources which can still contribute to the production of Z-3-hexenal in this model.
While these clusters may primarily be comprised of thylakoid membranes, other membranes within the damaged plant tissue may also contribute to the overall production of Z3al. However, since Z3al is the most prominent aldehyde compound produced in damaged maize leaf tissue, a certain preference for α-linolenic acid or related omega 3 fatty acids seems to be highly probable. And while high salt concentrations appear to further activate the system and support our hypothesis of hydrophobic cluster formation, the required concentrations of these and related ions are rather unlikely to constitute within damaged leaf tissues.
To summarize, we have separated factors that stimulate Z3al biosynthesis. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that a combination of pH, Ca2+- abundance and hydrophobic cluster formation are important factors that aid in the massive production of Z3al in damaged leaf tissue in maize. These regulatory principles may help to partially organize the otherwise chaotic mixture of cellular components as it occurs upon tissue damage in plants.