In hypersensitive response (HR), programmed cell death (PCD) is reported as a powerful defense mechanism in plant immune responses to pathogen. However, little is known about the PCD in sys-temic acquired resistance (SAR). Using tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) to infect the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Jiafen 16) we found that localized TMV-infection could induce cell death in the uninoculated parts of the tomatoes, where the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed no spreading virus. The biological and molecular characterization of this cell death was shown as fol-lowing: chromatin condensed and formed peripheral conglomeration in nuclei; cell nucleus were TUNEL positive labeled; genomic DNA was fragmented and showed DNA laddering; mitochondria and chloroplast were disrupted; tonoplast and plasma membrane were shrunk and degradated. These re-sults suggested that with an absence of TMV spread, the local TMV-infection on certain tomato leaves could induce systemic PCD in the root-tips, stem-apices and uninoculated leaves. The systemic PCD has various initiation and synchronization in such tissues and is distinct in inducement and exhibition from HR-PCD and SAR.
ZHOU ShuMin, LIU WenNa, KONG LinAn & WANG Mao College of Biological Sciences, China Agriculture University, Beijing 100094, China
This research used confocal laser scanning mi-croscopy to examine the initiation and connection of vessel elements in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh seedlings. The results indicated that vessel elements differentiated first in the lower portion of cotyledon-node zone (CNZ) 2 h after germination, and then extended downwards to the hypocotyl and root and upwardly to the middle portion of CNZ. 10 h after germination, vessel elements developed in the lower portion of cotyledon blade, the second initiating site, con-necting gradually with that initiated in cotyledon node and forming pinnate-marginal venation. The connection of vessel elements occurred between the upper portions of CNZ and epicotyl-shoot zone 7 d after germination. By then, the com-plete connection of vessel elements in the axial and lateral organs had formed.
