Co-treatment of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum var R405 2000) with methyl jasmonate and ethephon: Impact on the production of phenolic compounds

The objective of this study is to show the real impact of methyl jasmonate and ethephon in combination on the production of phenolic compounds in cultivar R405-2000 of the cotton plant Gossypium hirsutum. As well, cotton plants were treated in the field by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), ethephon (ETH) and the association of methyl jasmonate and ethephon (MeJA + ETH). The effect of these treatments was appreciated thanks to a qualitative analysis of total phenols by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The results showed that ethephon, the metabolic precursor of ethylene, has properties identical to those of MeJA. However, the treatment of cotton leaves with ethephon induces less phenolic compounds than MeJA. On the other hand, the co-treatment of the leaves with MeJA and ethephon leads to an induction of phenolic compounds, which accumulate in greater quantities in the plant the phenols synthesized are more important with an activation of the biosynthetic pathway of stilbenoids because trans-resveratrol and transpiceide, two compounds belonging to the group of stilbenoids were synthesized de novo by the joint application of MeJA and ethephon on cotton leaves when they could not be synthesized when these two elicitors are applied alone.