Differential signalling and plant-volatile biosynthesis.

At least two different signalling pathways have been identified that result in clearly distinguishable volatile profiles in response to pathogens and herbivores in the lima bean Phaseolus lunatus. Alamethicin, a voltage-gated ion-channel-forming peptide from Trichoderma viride, is a potent inducer of volatile biosynthesis in the lima bean. Unlike elicitation with cellulysin or herbivore damage, which act through the jasmonic acid pathway and result in a complex pattern of volatile compounds, the emitted blend comprises only the two homoterpens, 4,11-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene and 4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene, and methyl salicylate. Both pathways, represented by jasmonic acid and alamethicin, depend on lipid-derived signalling compounds, set off by the activation of a phospholipase A and further processing by lipoxygenase activity. The alamethicin-induced signal-transduction pathway interferes with the octadecanoid cascade, probably due to increased salicylic acid levels, resulting in an inhibition of the typical jasmonic acid-induced volatile profile.