When exposed to light, the Sekiguchi lesion (
sl) rice mutant has an enhanced resistance to
Magnaporthe grisea infection responsible for Sekiguchi lesion formation and tryptamine accumulation. Glyphosate [
N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] pretreatment suppressed Sekiguchi lesion formation and tryptamine accumulation in the
sl mutant after
M. grisea infection even under light. This inhibition by glyphosate was blocked by the supply of exogenous tryptophan, but not by exogenous
phenylalanine. In glyphosate-pretreated leaves, 5-enol-pyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase gene expression and tryptophan
biosynthesis were significantly suppressed. During tryptophan starvation, catalase activity was maintained at a high level
even under light, leading to the suppression of H
2O
2 generation and DNA fragmentation. These results show a strong relationship between the tryptophan and tryptamine pathways
in the induction of light-enhanced resistance to
M. grisea infection in the
sl mutant.
Keywords Glyphosate - Tryptophan - Sekiguchi lesion - Rice -
Magnaporthe grisea