Lithium alters elicitor-induced H2O2 production in cultured plant cells

Lithium pollution may seriously influence the metabolic and signalling processes of plants. In the present paper, we investigate the effect of lithium chloride on fungal elicitor-triggered H2O2 generation in Rubia tinctorum L. cell cultures. Our results show that Li+ strongly influences elicitor-induced H2O2 formation and time-course in the cells and culture medium. Neomycin, a phospholipase C inhibitor, and 2-APB, an inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) receptor-mediated Ca2+ release blocker, strongly affected the elicitor-induced H2O2 production and had a similar effect on elicitor-triggered H2O2 formation as Li+. We monitored changes in H2O2 location at subcellular level and our observations confirmed the changes measured by quantitative methods. The obtained results enabled us to deduce that the IP3 pathway might be involved in the early signalling events leading to the moderation of elicitor-induced reactive oxygen species generation.