Bacterial chemoattraction towards jasmonate plays a role in the entry of Dickeya dadantii through wounded tissues

Abstract

Jasmonate is a key signalling compound in plant defence that is synthesized in wounded tissues. In this work, we have found that this molecule is also a strong chemoattractant for the phythopathogenic bacteria Dickeya dadantii (ex-Erwinia chysanthemi). Jasmonic acid induced the expression of a subset of bacterial genes possibly involved in virulence/survival in the plant apoplast and bacterial cells pre-treated with jasmonate showed increased virulence in chicory and Saintpaulia leaves. We also showed that tissue wounding induced bacterial spread through the leaf surface. Moreover, the jasmonate-deficient aos1 Arabidopsis thaliana mutant was more resistant to bacterial invasion by D. dadantii than wild-type plants. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that sensing jasmonic acid by this bacterium helps the pathogen to ingress inside plant tissues.