Arabidopsis Defense against the Pathogenic Fungus Drechslera gigantea Is Dependent on the Integrity of the Unfolded Protein Response

Drechslera gigantea Heald & Wolf is a worldwide-spread necrotrophic fungus closely related to the Bipolaris genus, well-known because many member species provoke severe diseases in cereal crops and studied because they produce sesterpenoid phytoxins named ophiobolins which possess interesting biological properties. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a conserved mechanism protecting eukaryotic cells from the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In plants, consolidated evidence supports the role of UPR in the tolerance to abiotic stress, whereas much less information is available concerning the induction of ER stress by pathogen infection and consequent UPR elicitation as part of the defense response. In this study, the infection process of D. gigantea in Arabidopsis thaliana wild type and UPR-defective bzip28 bzip60 double mutant plants was comparatively investigated, with the aim to address the role of UPR in the expression of resistance to the fungal pathogen. The results of confocal microscopy, as well as of qRT-PCR transcript level analysis of UPR genes, proteomics, microRNAs expression profile and HPLC-based hormone analyses demonstrated that ophiobolin produced by the fungus during infection compromised ER integrity and that impairment of the IRE1/bZIP60 pathway of UPR hampered the full expression of resistance, thereby enhancing plant susceptibility to the pathogen.

Genetic variation, environment and demography intersect to shape Arabidopsis defense metabolite variation across Europe

Plants face a variety of challenges within their ever-changing environment. Diverse metabolites are central to the plants ability to overcome these challenges. Understanding the environmental and genetic factors influencing the variation in specialized metabolites is the key to understand how plants survive and develop under changing environments. Here we measure the variation in specialized metabolites across a population of 797 natural Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. We show a combination of geography, environmental parameters, demography, and different genetic processes that creates a specific pattern in their accumulation and distribution. By identifying and tracking causal polymorphisms at multiple loci controlling metabolites variation we show that each locus displays extensive allelic heterogeneity with signatures of both parallel and convergent evolutionary processes. These loci combine epistatically and show differing relationships to environmental parameters leading to different distributions. This provides a detailed perspective about the complexity of the forces and mechanisms that shape the accumulation and distribution of a family of specialized metabolites critical for plant fitness.

Coronatine is More Potent than Jasmonates in Regulating Arabidopsis Circadian Clock

Recent studies establish a crucial role of the circadian clock in regulating plant defense against pathogens. Whether pathogens modulate host circadian clock as a potential strategy to suppress host innate immunity is not well understood. Coronatine is a toxin produced by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae that is known to counteract Arabidopsis defense through mimicking defense signaling molecules, jasmonates (JAs). We report here that COR preferentially suppresses expression of clock-related genes in high throughput gene expression studies, compared with the plant-derived JA molecule methyl jasmonate (MJ). COR treatment dampens the amplitude and lengthens the period of all four reporters tested while MJ and another JA agonist JA-isoleucine (JA-Ile) only affect some reporters. COR, MJ, and JA-Ile act through the canonical JA receptor COI1 in clock regulation. These data support a stronger role of the pathogen-derived molecule COR than plant-derived JA molecules in regulating Arabidopsis clock. Further study shall reveal mechanisms underlying COR regulation of host circadian clock.

Unravelling the Complexity of Plant Defense Induced by a Simultaneous and Sequential Mite and Aphid Infestation

In natural and agricultural conditions, plants are attacked by a community of herbivores, including aphids and mites. The green peach aphid and the two-spotted spider mite, both economically important pests, may share the same plant. Therefore, an important question arises as to how plants integrate signals induced by dual herbivore attack into the optimal defensive response. We showed that regardless of which attacker was first, 24 h of infestation allowed for efficient priming of the Arabidopsis defense, which decreased the reproductive performance of one of the subsequent herbivores. The expression analysis of several defense-related genes demonstrated that the individual impact of mite and aphid feeding spread systematically, engaging the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathways. Interestingly, aphids feeding on the systemic leaf of the plant simultaneously attacked by mites, efficiently reduced the magnitude of the SA and JA activation, whereas mites feeding remotely increased the aphid-induced SA marker gene expression, while the JA-dependent response was completely abolished. We also indicated that the weaker performance of mites and aphids in double infestation essays might be attributed to aliphatic glucosinolates. Our report is the first to provide molecular data on signaling cross-talk when representatives of two distinct taxonomical classes within the phylum Arthropoda co-infest the same plant.

The Combined Action of ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1, PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4, and SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED101 Promotes Salicylic Acid-Mediated Defenses to Limit Fusarium graminearum Infection in Arabidopsis thaliana

Fusarium graminearum causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease in wheat and other cereals. F. graminearum also causes disease in Arabidopsis thaliana. In both Arabidopsis and wheat, F. graminearum infection is limited by salicylic acid (SA) signaling. Here, we show that, in Arabidopsis, the defense regulator EDS1 (ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1) and its interacting partners, PAD4 (PHYTOALEXIN-DEFICIENT4) and SAG101 (SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED GENE101), promote SA accumulation to curtail F. graminearum infection. Characterization of plants expressing the PAD4 noninteracting eds1L262P indicated that interaction between EDS1 and PAD4 is critical for limiting F. graminearum infection. A conserved serine in the predicted acyl hydrolase catalytic triad of PAD4, which is not required for defense against bacterial and oomycete pathogens, is necessary for limiting F. graminearum infection. These results suggest a molecular configuration of PAD4 in Arabidopsis defense against F. graminearum that is different from its defense contribution against other pathogens. We further show that constitutive expression of Arabidopsis PAD4 can enhance FHB resistance in Arabidopsis and wheat. Taken together with previous studies of wheat and Arabidopsis expressing salicylate hydroxylase or the SA-response regulator NPR1 (NON-EXPRESSER OF PR GENES1), our results show that exploring fundamental processes in a model plant provides important leads to manipulating crops for improved disease resistance.