Investigating interactions of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathways in monocots wheat

• SA and JA responsive marker genes in monocot wheat was investigated.
• SA and JA can also synergize or antagonize defense genes expression in monocots.
• The outcomes of SA-JA interaction in wheat was dose dependent.
• SA and JA show antagonistic effect in pathogen-inoculated wheat plants.

Upon pathogen or insect attack, plants respond with production of a specific blend of the alarm signals salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), which are recognized as key players in the regulation of the signaling pathways involved. SA and JA responsive genes and SA/JA cross talk were well characterized in dicotyledonous species, but little is known in monocotyledonous plants. Using qRT-PCR, the expression profiles of SA and JA responsive genes were investigated after SA and JA treatments in monocots wheat. The results showed that Glu2 and PR-2 responded almost exclusively to SA, PR-3 and LOX2 responded positively to methyljasmonate (MeJA) treatment, while Lipase and PR-1.1 were induced in response to treatment with SA or MeJA. Furthermore, either by pathogen infection or exogenous application of hormones can activate the antagonistic effect between SA and JA in wheat, which has been well elucidated in dicotyledonous species. The outcomes of SA-JA interactions could be affected by the relative concentration of each hormone. This study shed light on marker genes that can represent SA and JA pathways in wheat and provided some clues for better understanding their interactions in monocot.