Suppression of ETI by PTI priming to balance plant growth and defense through an MPK3/MPK6-WRKYs-PP2Cs module

Dacheng Wang; Lirong Wei; Ting Liu; Jinbiao Ma; Keyi Huang; Huimin Guo; Yufen Huang; Lei Zhang; Jing Zhao; Kenichi Tsuda; Yiming Wang

doi:10.1016/j.molp.2023.04.004

Suppression of ETI by PTI priming to balance plant growth and defense through an MPK3/MPK6-WRKYs-PP2Cs module

Mol Plant. 2023 May 1;16(5):903-918. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.04.004. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Authors

Dacheng Wang¹, Lirong Wei¹, Ting Liu¹, Jinbiao Ma¹, Keyi Huang¹, Huimin Guo¹, Yufen Huang¹, Lei Zhang¹, Jing Zhao¹, Kenichi Tsuda², Yiming Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Hubei Key Lab of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: ymwang@njau.edu.cn.

PMID: 37041748
DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.04.004

Abstract

Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) are required for host defense against pathogens. Although PTI and ETI are intimately connected, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that flg22 priming attenuates Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst) AvrRpt2-induced hypersensitive cell death, resistance, and biomass reduction in Arabidopsis. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are key signaling regulators of PTI and ETI. The absence of MPK3 and MPK6 significantly reduces pre-PTI-mediated ETI suppression (PES). We found that MPK3/MPK6 interact with and phosphorylate the downstream transcription factor WRKY18, which regulates the expression of AP2C1 and PP2C5, two genes encoding protein phosphatases. Furthermore, we observed that the PTI-suppressed ETI-triggered cell death, MAPK activation, and growth retardation are significantly attenuated in wrky18/40/60 and ap2c1 pp2c5 mutants. Taken together, our results suggest that the MPK3/MPK6-WRKYs-PP2Cs module underlies PES and is essential for the maintenance of plant fitness during ETI.

Keywords: MAPK; PAMP-triggered immunity; WRKY18; effector-triggered immunity; protein phosphatase.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis Proteins* / metabolism
Arabidopsis* / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / genetics
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / genetics
Plant Development
Plant Immunity / genetics
Pseudomonas syringae / physiology
Signal Transduction / genetics

Substances

Arabidopsis Proteins
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
MPK6 protein, Arabidopsis
AP2C1 protein, Arabidopsis
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases