Effects of wounding on jasmonic acid distribution in vicia faba leaves

Higher plants have to cope with environmental stimulus such as wounding. Jasmonic acid (JA) is an essential long-distance signaling compound. There is rare information about JA cellular and subcellular localization by now. In this work, using the immuno-fluorescence and immuno-gold electron microscopy, distributions of JA were determined in different cells of Vicia faba leaf. It showed that JA existed in the epidermal cells, mesophyll cells and guard cells, mainly localized in the cytosol and chloroplast of mesophyll cells, cell wall of epidermal cells, and cytosol, cell wall, chloroplast and nucleus of guard cells. Wounding increased JA accumulation in the apoplast and guard cells. Our results suggest that JA plays an important role as a signal in the defense response and involves in regulation of the stomatal movement in response to wounding stress.