Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom - TAIR

Effectors affect distal effects; plant systemic
reprogramming associated with defense and
disease
Plant systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is classically recognized as a key
defense mechanism elaborated following recognition of a pathogen effector by
a plant disease resistance protein. A local signal(s) is generated and translocated
to distal naïve tissues where it is decoded to activate a signaling network that
confers broad spectrum immunity to a wide range of normally virulent pathogens.
Elevated SA levels in distal responding leaves are central to SAR but our
knowledge of the nature of the translocated signals, their perception in distal
leaves and the response networks that propagate SAR is sparse and in cases
contradictory. Using a combination of whole genome transcriptome profiling,
targeted metabolite profiling and real time imaging we will describe our efforts to
reconstruct the series of events that lead to systemic immunity in Arabidopsis
thaliana following recognition of an avirulent strain of Pseudomonas syringae. In
particular we will focus on an emerging role for plant hormones in establishment
of effective SAR. Recent data imply that plants also respond systemically to
pathogen associated molecular patterns and pathogen effectors. Our
experiments show that signals arising from a compatible interaction also
reconfigure transcription in systemic tissues, activating networks associated with
disease development in infected tissue.
36
L11
Thursday 11:30 - 12:00
Plant Defence
William Truman1
Bing Zhai1
Mark Bennett2
Marta de Torres Zabala1
Colin Turnbull2
Murray Grant1
1School of Biosciences
Univeristy of Exeter
UK
2Division of Biology
Imperial College
UK