Publication Date:
2019
Description:
〈p〉Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a powerful immune response that triggers broad-spectrum disease resistance throughout a plant. In the model plant 〈i〉Arabidopsis thaliana〈/i〉, long-distance signaling and SAR activation in uninfected tissues occur without circulating immune cells and instead rely on the metabolite 〈i〉N-〈/i〉hydroxy-pipecolic acid (NHP). Engineering SAR in crop plants would enable external control of a plant’s ability to mount a global defense response upon sudden changes in the environment. Such a metabolite-engineering approach would require the molecular machinery for producing and responding to NHP in the crop plant. Here, we used heterologous expression in 〈i〉Nicotiana benthamiana〈/i〉 leaves to identify a minimal set of 〈i〉Arabidopsis〈/i〉 genes necessary for the biosynthesis of NHP. Local expression of these genes in tomato leaves triggered SAR in distal tissues in the absence of a pathogen, suggesting that the SAR trait can be engineered to enhance a plant’s endogenous ability to respond to pathogens. We also showed tomato produces endogenous NHP in response to a bacterial pathogen and that NHP is present across the plant kingdom, raising the possibility that an engineering strategy to enhance NHP-induced defenses could be possible in many crop plants.〈/p〉
Print ISSN:
1945-0877
Electronic ISSN:
1937-9145
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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