The Bacterial Effector AvrB-Induced RIN4 Hyperphosphorylation Is Mediated by a Receptor-Like Cytoplasmic Kinase Complex in Arabidopsis

Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2017 Jun;30(6):502-512. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-01-17-0017-R. Epub 2017 May 8.

Abstract

Bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae delivers diverse type III effectors into host cells to interfere with their immune responses. One of the effectors, AvrB, targets a host guardee protein RIN4 and induces RIN4 phosphorylation in Arabidopsis. Phosphorylated RIN4 activates the immune receptor RPM1 to mount defense. AvrB-induced RIN4 phosphorylation depends on RIPK, a receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase (RLCK). In this study, we found several other RLCKs that were also able to phosphorylate RIN4. We demonstrated that these RLCKs formed a complex with RIPK and were functionally redundant to RIPK. We also found that unphosphorylated RIN4 was epistatic to phosphorylated RIN4 in terms of RPM1 activation. AvrB-induced RLCK gene expression and phosphorylated RIN4-triggered RPM1 activation required RAR1, a central regulator in plant innate immunity. Our results unravel a mechanism in which plants employ multiple kinases to hyperphosphorylate the guardee protein RIN4 to ensure immune activation during pathogen invasion.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis / microbiology
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics*
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Mutation
  • Phosphorylation
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Protein Binding
  • Pseudomonas syringae / genetics*
  • Pseudomonas syringae / physiology
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / genetics*
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / metabolism

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • AvrB protein, Pseudomonas syringae
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • RIN4 protein, Arabidopsis
  • RPM1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear