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Within dense communities, competition for light resources affects plant growth and leads to the shade-avoidance syndrome, notably characterized by elongation of vegetative organs and upward leaf movements (hyponasty) to outgrow competitors and favor access to unfiltered sunlight. In parallel, attacks from herbivores induce defense mechanisms depending on the jasmonate (JA) pathway and this is associated with a strong growth inhibition. Previous studies have shown that shaded plants challenged with herbivores, or more generally with pathogens, prioritize growth over defense.

Our aim was to investigate the potential interaction between the shade-avoidance and JA pathways on leaf growth and movement and to get new insights into fundamental growth processes. To do so, we used leaf phenotyping upon combined treatments on Arabidopsis thaliana rosettes, followed by gene expression analysis of petioles in single and combined treatments by RNA-sequencing. This allowed us to identify and characterize regulators of growth and movement controlled in opposite ways by these stimuli.