Insect-damaged <i>Arabidopsis</i> moves like wounded <i>Mimosa pudica</i>.

Abstract

Slow wave potentials (SWPs) are damage-induced electrical signals which, based on experiments in which organs are burned, have been linked to rapid increases in leaf or stem thickness. The possibility that pressure surges in injured xylem underlie these events has been evoked frequently. We sought evidence for insect feeding-induced positive pressure changes in the petioles of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> Instead, we found that petiole surfaces of leaves distal to insect-feeding sites subsided. We also found that insect damage induced longer-duration downward leaf movements in undamaged leaves. The transient petiole deformations were contemporary with and dependent on the SWP. We then investigated if mutants that affect the xylem, which has been implicated in SWP transmission, might modify SWP architecture. <i>irregular xylem</i> mutants strongly affected SWP velocity and kinetics and, in parallel, restructured insect damage-induced petiole deformations. Together, with force change measurements on the primary vein, the results suggest that extravascular water fluxes accompany the SWP. Moreover, petiole deformations in <i>Arabidopsis</i> mimic parts of the spectacular distal leaf collapse phase seen in wounded <i>Mimosa pudica</i> We genetically link electrical signals to organ movement and deformation and suggest an evolutionary origin of the large leaf movements seen in wounded <i>Mimosa</i>.