Plant oxylipins: Plant responses to 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid are governed by its specific structural and functional properties

One of the most challenging questions in modern plant science is how plants regulate their morphological and developmental adaptation in response to changes in their biotic and abiotic environment. A comprehensive elucidation of the underlying mechanisms will help shed light on the extremely efficient strategies of plants in terms of survival and propagation. In recent years, a number of environmental stress conditions have been described as being mediated by signaling molecules of the oxylipin family. In this context, jasmonic acid, its biosynthetic precursor, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA), and also reactive electrophilic species such as phytoprostanes play pivotal roles. Although our understanding of jasmonic acid-dependent processes and jasmonic acid signal-transduction cascades has made considerable progress in recent years, knowledge of the regulation and mode of action of OPDA-dependent plant responses is just emerging. This minireview focuses on recent work concerned with the elucidation of OPDA-specific processes in plants. In this context, aspects such as the differential recruitment of OPDA, either by de novo biosynthesis or by release from cyclo-oxylipin-galactolipids, and the conjugation of free OPDA are discussed.