Enhanced Resistance of atnigr1 against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato Suggests Negative Regulation of Plant Basal Defense and Systemic Acquired Resistance by AtNIGR1 Encoding NAD(P)-Binding Rossmann-Fold in Arabidopsis thaliana

Tiba Nazar Al Azzawi; Murtaza Khan; Bong-Gyu Mun; Sang-Uk Lee; Muhammad Imran; Adil Hussain; Nkulu Kabange Rolly; Da-Sol Lee; Sajid Ali; In-Jung Lee; Byung-Wook Yun

doi:10.3390/antiox12050989

Enhanced Resistance of atnigr1 against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato Suggests Negative Regulation of Plant Basal Defense and Systemic Acquired Resistance by AtNIGR1 Encoding NAD(P)-Binding Rossmann-Fold in Arabidopsis thaliana

Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Apr 24;12(5):989. doi: 10.3390/antiox12050989.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Horticulture and Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea.
³ Biosafety Division, National Institute of Agriculture Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 55365, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Entomology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Southern Area of Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, Miryang 50424, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates several biological and physiological processes in plants. This study investigated the role of Arabidopsis thaliana Negative Immune and Growth Regulator 1 (AtNIGR1), encoding an NAD(P)-binding Rossmann-fold superfamily, in the growth and immunity of Arabidopsis thaliana. AtNIGR1 was pooled from the CySNO transcriptome as a NO-responsive gene. Seeds of the knockout (atnigr1) and overexpression plants were evaluated for their response to oxidative [(hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and methyl viologen (MV)] or nitro-oxidative [(S-nitroso-L-cysteine (CySNO) and S-nitroso glutathione (GSNO)] stress. Results showed that the root and shoot growth of atnigr1 (KO) and AtNIGR1 (OE) exhibited differential phenotypic responses under oxidative and nitro-oxidative stress and normal growth conditions. To investigate the role of the target gene in plant immunity, the biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 virulent (Pst DC3000 vir) was used to assess the basal defense, while the Pst DC3000 avirulent (avrB) strain was used to investigate R-gene-mediated resistance and systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Data revealed that AtNIGR1 negatively regulated basal defense, R-gene-mediated resistance, and SAR. Furthermore, the Arabidopsis eFP browser indicated that the expression of AtNIGR1 is detected in several plant organs, with the highest expression observed in germinating seeds. All results put together suggest that AtNIGR1 could be involved in plant growth, as well as basal defense and SAR, in response to bacterial pathogens in Arabidopsis.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; NAD(P)-binding Rossmann-fold superfamily gene; nitric oxide; pathogenic bacteria; plant growth and defense.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea Frontiers in Plant Science (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (Grant number 2020R1I1A3073247), Republic of Korea and Korea Basic Science Institute (National Research Facilities and Equipment Center) grant funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2021R1A6C101A416).