Fig. 1

Effect of a short period of MS to juvenile Arabidopsis seedlings. A TCH-inducible gene expression within 30 and 60 min after 10 s of MS. Relative mRNA expression levels were normalized using β-ACTIN as the housekeeping gene (n = 3). B Petiole length and rosette leaf area in a 10-day old plant subject to 7-days of repetitive MS (touched twice daily for 10 s). A representative image of a 17-day old plant has been displayed and data was averaged from scoring individual plants (n = 15 plants). C Floral stem height and reproductive architecture in MS-treated and control plants. 10-day old plants were subjected to 7-days of MS without any further stimulation and allowed to flower. Phenotypes were scored in a 35-day old plant from the main floral bolt. A representative image has been displayed and the floral stem height defines the average of multiple independent plants (n = 15). D Jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) levels were quantified in a whole rosette from juvenile plants subject to 7-days of MS. Leaves were harvested 30 min post-MS (n = 10 plants). E Leaves from controls and 7-days MS plants stained with phloroglucinol to highlight lignin accumulation as red colouration (indicated by arrow). Error bars show standard error of biological variation. Statistical significance denoted by letters (A) was determined using ANOVA with the Bonferroni test, and asterisks (B, C, D) determined with student’s t-test (p < 0.05). Scale bars = B, 1 cm; C, 5 cm; E, 1 cm