An unusual wildflower that accumulates metals in its leaves has been found to use them as a kind of 'armor' against bacterial infection. Scientists from Oxford University have shown that when Alpine pennycress (Thlaspi caerulescens) plants accumulate metals in their leaves, they become resistant to attack by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola. They report their findings September 9 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.
Thlaspi, a small plant in the mustard family that grows on metal-rich soils scattered around Britain and Europe, such as the sites of former mine workings, is known to accumulate zinc, nickel and cadmium to very high concentrations in its leaves. "
Our results demonstrate that these plants are exploiting their metal-rich environment to armor themselves against disease," said co-author Dr Gail Preston of Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences, co-author of the report. "What we've found is a direct link between these high metal concentrations and resistance to bacterial infection."
Co-author Helen Fones cultivated Thlaspi plants on progressively higher concentrations of zinc, nickel and cadmium and showed that all three metals were able to defend the plant against the pathogenic bacterium. By studying diverse strains of the bacterium, she was able to demonstrate a close relationship between the ability of bacteria to grow in the presence of high concentrations of metal and their ability to infect the plants.
"Previously, it has been difficult to explain why Thlaspi plants should accumulate such high concentrations of potentially toxic metals," said co-author Professor Andrew Smith of Oxford's Department of Plant Sciences, co-supervisor of the research. "Our findings provide good evidence that, by accumulating metals, these plants benefit from enhanced protection against enemies such as pathogenic microorganisms and herbivores."
The researchers also showed that bacter
'/>"/>
| Contact: Dr. Gail Preston gail.preston@plants.ox.ac.uk 44-075-000-08144 Public Library of Science Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Wildflower declines in Thoreaus Concord woods are due to climate changes
2. Your body recycling itself -- captured on film
3. A window that washes itself?
4. No longer a gray area: Our hair bleaches itself as we grow older
5. Biodiversity itself begets a species cascade, researchers say
6. Scientists discover how deadly fungus protects itself
7. Scripps scientists develop first examples of RNA that replicates itself indefinitely
8. Researchers discover novel mechanism protecting plants against freezing
9. New analysis weighs lost trade, costs to control invasive species against economic damages
10. MSU project may lead to new approaches against lung cancer
11. Study shows that hitchhiking bacteria can go against the flow
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |