Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) plants sprayed with a solution of methyl
jasmonate or exposed to methyl jasmonate vapour accumulated indolyl g
lucosinolates in their leaves in amounts that depended on the concentr
ation applied. At the highest concentration of methyl jasmonate, the t
otal glucosinolate concentration increased up to 20-fold. The predomin
ant components of the response were 3-indolylmethyl- and 1-methoxy-3-i
ndolylmethyl-glucosinolates, which together comprised 90% of the total
glucosinolates in treated leaves. This selective induction of indolyl
glucosinolates contrasts with the response to fungal infection and to
treatment with other abiotic elicitors. The implications of these fin
dings are discussed in terms of the role of both methyl jasmonate and
the glucosinolates in plant defence.