Glutathione contributes to plant defence against parasitic cyst nematodes

• Published in: Molecular plant pathology Vol. 23; no. 7; pp. 1048 - 1059
• Main Authors: Hasan, M. Shamim, Chopra, Divykriti, Damm, Anika, Koprivova, Anna, Kopriva, Stanislav, Meyer, Andreas J., Müller‐Schüssele, Stefanie, Grundler, Florian M. W., Siddique, Shahid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Biochemical analysis; Biosynthesis; Crop damage; Cysts - metabolism; Deficient mutant; Endoparasites; Enzymes; Females; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase - genetics; Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase - metabolism; Glutathione; Glutathione - metabolism; Glycine; Infections; Minors; Mutation; nematode; Nematodes; Original; Pathogens; Pest resistance; Plant Diseases - genetics; Plant resistance; Plant Roots - parasitology; plant‐parasitic nematode; redox; Roles; syncytium; Transcription activation; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Tylenchoidea - physiology; nematode; syncytium; plant-parasitic nematode; glutathione; redox
• ISSN: 1464-6722; 1364-3703
• DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13210

Cyst nematodes (CNs) are an important group of root‐infecting sedentary endoparasites that severely damage many crop plants worldwide. An infective CN juvenile enters the host's roots and migrates towards the vascular cylinder, where it induces the formation of syncytial feeding cells, which nourish the CN throughout its parasitic stages. Here, we examined the role of glutathione (l‐γ‐glutamyl‐l‐cysteinyl‐glycine) in Arabidopsis thaliana on infection with the CN Heterodera schachtii. Arabidopsis lines with mutations pad2, cad2, or zir1 in the glutamate–cysteine ligase (GSH1) gene, which encodes the first enzyme in the glutathione biosynthetic pathway, displayed enhanced CN susceptibility, but susceptibility was reduced for rax1, another GSH1 allele. Biochemical analysis revealed differentially altered thiol levels in these mutants that was independent of nematode infection. All glutathione‐deficient mutants exhibited impaired activation of defence marker genes as well as genes for biosynthesis of the antimicrobial compound camalexin early in infection. Further analysis revealed a link between glutathione‐mediated plant resistance to CN infection and the production of camalexin on nematode infection. These results suggest that glutathione levels affect plant resistance to CN by fine‐tuning the balance between the cellular redox environment and the production of compounds related to defence against infection. Glutathione contributes to plant resistance against cyst nematodes by activating plant defence responses, including production of camalexin.