The Arabidopsis NUCLEUS- AND PHRAGMOPLAST-LOCALIZED KINASE1-Related Protein Kinases Are Required for Elicitor-Induced Oxidative Burst and Immunity

• Published in: Plant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 165; no. 3; pp. 1188 - 1202
• Main Authors: Savatin, Daniel Valentin, Bisceglia, Nora Gigli, Marti, Lucia, Fabbri, Claudia, Cervone, Felice, De Lorenzo, Giulia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society of Plant Biologists 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Gene expression; Gene expression regulation; Genes; Hydrogen; Immunity; Peroxides; Phosphorylation; Plants; Reactive oxygen species; Seedlings; SIGNALING AND RESPONSE
• ISSN: 0032-0889; 1532-2548
• DOI: 10.1104/pp.114.236901

Plant immunity is activated through complex and cross-talking transduction pathways that include a mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation cascade. Here, we have investigated the role in immunity of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene subfamily that encodes the mitogen-activated protein triple kinases indicated as ARABIDOPSIS NUCLEUS-AND PHRAGMOPLAST-LOCALIZED KINASE1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASE1 (ANP1), ANP2, and ANP3. For this study, we used representative danger signals (elicitors) belonging to the classes of the damage- and pathogen-associated molecular patterns, i.e. oligogalacturonides, linear fragments derived from the plant cell wall homogalacturonan, and the peptide elfl8 derived from the bacterial elongation factor thermo-unstable. Analyses of single and double as well as conditional triple mutants show that ANPs are required for elicitor-triggered defense responses and protection against the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Notably, ANPs also required for both the elicitor-induced oxidative burst and the transduction of the hydrogen peroxide signal but not for the inhibition of auxin-induced gene expression, indicating that this response can be uncoupled from the activation of defense responses. Our findings point to ANPs as key transduction elements that coordinate damage- and pathogen-associated molecular patterntriggered immunity and orchestrate reactive oxygen species accumulation and signaling.