IRBs are overlooked stakeholders for those eager to engage in open science initiatives.
Image credit: David Cutler (artist).
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Edited by Jeffery L. Dangl, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, and approved October 29, 2010 (received for review March 30, 2010)
Abstract
At least two components that modulate plant resistance against the fungal powdery mildew disease are ancient and have been conserved since the time of the monocot–dicot split (≈200 Mya). These components are the seven transmembrane domain containing MLO/MLO2 protein and the syntaxin ROR2/PEN1, which act antagonistically and have been identified in the monocot barley (Hordeum vulgare) and the dicot Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively. Additionally, syntaxin-interacting N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor adaptor protein receptor proteins (VAMP721/722 and SNAP33/34) as well as a myrosinase (PEN2) and an ABC transporter (PEN3) contribute to antifungal resistance in both barley and/or Arabidopsis. Here, we show that these genetically defined defense components share a similar set of coexpressed genes in the two plant species, comprising a statistically significant overrepresentation of gene products involved in regulation of transcription, posttranslational modification, and signaling. Most of the coexpressed Arabidopsis genes possess a common cis-regulatory element that may dictate their coordinated expression. We exploited gene coexpression to uncover numerous components in Arabidopsis involved in antifungal defense. Together, our data provide evidence for an evolutionarily conserved regulon composed of core components and clade/species-specific innovations that functions as a module in plant innate immunity.
Footnotes
- 5To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: panstrug{at}mpiz-koeln.mpg.de.
Author contributions: M.H., P.S.-L., S.S., and R.P. designed research; M.H., P.B., B.K., S.K., M.S., and M.P.-B. performed research; M.H., P.B., B.K., S.K., M.S., U.G., K.S., A.L., and R.P. analyzed data; and M.H., P.B., P.S.-L., and R.P. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1003619107/-/DCSupplemental.
- Matt Humphrya,1,
- Paweł Bednareka,
- Birgit Kemmerlingb,
- Serry Kohc,2,
- Mónica Steinc,3,
- Ulrike Göbeld,
- Kurt Stüberd,
- Mariola Piślewska-Bednareka,
- Ann Lorainee,
- Paul Schulze-Leferta,
- Shauna Somervillec,4, and
- Ralph Panstrugaa,5
- aDepartment of Plant Microbe Interactions and
- dPlant Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany;
- bCenter for Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
- cDepartment of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution, Stanford, CA 94305; and
- eDepartment of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223
Edited by Jeffery L. Dangl, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, and approved October 29, 2010 (received for review March 30, 2010)
Abstract
At least two components that modulate plant resistance against the fungal powdery mildew disease are ancient and have been conserved since the time of the monocot–dicot split (≈200 Mya). These components are the seven transmembrane domain containing MLO/MLO2 protein and the syntaxin ROR2/PEN1, which act antagonistically and have been identified in the monocot barley (Hordeum vulgare) and the dicot Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively. Additionally, syntaxin-interacting N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor adaptor protein receptor proteins (VAMP721/722 and SNAP33/34) as well as a myrosinase (PEN2) and an ABC transporter (PEN3) contribute to antifungal resistance in both barley and/or Arabidopsis. Here, we show that these genetically defined defense components share a similar set of coexpressed genes in the two plant species, comprising a statistically significant overrepresentation of gene products involved in regulation of transcription, posttranslational modification, and signaling. Most of the coexpressed Arabidopsis genes possess a common cis-regulatory element that may dictate their coordinated expression. We exploited gene coexpression to uncover numerous components in Arabidopsis involved in antifungal defense. Together, our data provide evidence for an evolutionarily conserved regulon composed of core components and clade/species-specific innovations that functions as a module in plant innate immunity.
- (co-)regulon
- glucosinolate metabolism
- pathogen entry
- plant defense
- evolution
Footnotes
- 5To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: panstrug{at}mpiz-koeln.mpg.de.
Author contributions: M.H., P.S.-L., S.S., and R.P. designed research; M.H., P.B., B.K., S.K., M.S., and M.P.-B. performed research; M.H., P.B., B.K., S.K., M.S., U.G., K.S., A.L., and R.P. analyzed data; and M.H., P.B., P.S.-L., and R.P. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1003619107/-/DCSupplemental.
A regulon conserved in monocot and dicot plants defines a functional module in antifungal plant immunity
Sign up for Article Alerts
Article Classifications
- Biological Sciences
- Plant Biology
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
Radiocarbon dating can help uncover paint forgeries in artworks.
Image courtesy of James Hamm (Buffalo State College, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY).
A study examines links between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/herbalhemp.
A study explores climate effects on distribution of some bird families over the last 56 million years.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/Free-Photos.
PNAS Profile of NAS member and molecular biologist Rodolphe Barrangou
Image courtesy of North Carolina State University/Marc Hall.