The jasmonate-insensitive mutant jin1 shows increased resistance to biotrophic as well as necrotrophic pathogens

Jasmonic acid and related oxylipin compounds are plant signalling molecules that are involved in the response to pathogens, insects, wounding and ozone. To explore further the role of jasmonates in stress signal transduction, the response of two jasmonate-signalling mutants, jin1 and jin4, to pathogens and ozone was analysed in this study. Upon treatment with the biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, endogenous jasmonate levels increased in jin1 and jin4 similar to wild-type, demonstrating that these mutants are not defective in jasmonate biosynthesis. Jin1 but not jin4 is more resistant to P. syringae and this higher resistance is accompanied by higher levels of salicylic acid. Jin1 is also more resistant to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea and shows wild-type sensitivity to ozone whereas jin4 is more susceptible to B. cinerea and ozone. These results indicate that the mutations in jin1 and jin4 affect different branches of the jasmonate signalling pathway, Additionally, in this combination of phenotypes, jin1 is unique among all other jasmonate-related mutants described thus far. These data also provide support for a crosstalk between the jasmonate and salicylate pathways.