Let ’ s get the biochemistry out of the way before we look at all the ways MeJa plays its many roles . Jasmonic acid ( JA ) is synthesized from a commonly found plant fatty acid known as linolenic acid . The release of linolenic acid within a plant leads to the production of JA and its derivative MeJa by way of the process cyclooxygenases . It is present in all healthy higher plant species .
Methyl _ jasmonate
It is critical the plants absorb MeJa in order to develop and use its own defenses to fend off invading insects .”
METHYL JASMONATE AS DEFENSE MECHANISM
Methyl jasmonate is released when a plant is subjected to stressors . This stress may be induced by abiotic factors , such as wounding from an errant mower or damage from an ice storm , or it may be biotical in nature and caused by a predatory insect or pathogen . Whenever a plant is injured , the alarm is sounded . Methyl jasmonate is sent as a volatile organic compound ( VOC ) through the stomata . This airborne message is received by the stomata on neighboring plants , signaling them to increase their own production of MeJa in preparation for whatever onslaught is about to be wrought . Amazingly , this signaling and reception can occur between plants of different species . A 1990 study at Washington State University showed this inter-plant communication between members of the Solonaceae ( tomatoes , peppers , egg plants , etc .), Fabaceae ( peas , beans , legumes , etc .), and Artemisia ( wormwoods , sagebrushes , mugworts , etc .) species . In plant predators , the effects of MeJa can range from an unpleasant digestive issue to causing cannibalistic tendencies . When MeJa is released within a plant , it causes the plant to produce other compounds known as protease inhibitors . These inhibitors cause negative , sometimes painful reactions on the invading plant pests . They may just make the plant taste “ bad ” to the pest , causing it to seek its meal elsewhere . In extreme cases , an abundance of MeJa will make a plant taste so horrific to a pest that it would rather eat other members of its species . A 2017 University of Wisconsin study that showed tobacco hornworms , normally herbivores , eating each other after sampling plant leaves with inflated levels of MeJa . A 2001 German study using the same type of hornworms made another interesting discovery . It found that plants that had released MeJa in response to stress from herbivores were less likely to have those same predators lay their eggs on their leaves . In this particular study , plants that had elevated levels of MeJa had 91.7 per cent fewer eggs from predator species on their leaves than plants of the same species that had not released any MeJa . A 1997 study conducted at Washington State University used another common pest , the fungal gnat . Several approaches were taken in an attempt to understand the complexity of the plant-signaling pathways . First , an analysis of mortality in mutant plants that had no natural ability to produce MeJa found that 80 per cent of the
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