Abstract
Sound vibration (SV) is one of the several environmental stimuli that induce physiological changes in plants including changes in plant immunity. Immune activation is a complicated process involving epigenetic modifications, however, SV-induced epigenetic modifications remain unexplored. Here, we performed an integrative analysis comprising chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and microRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) to understand the role of SV-mediated epigenetic modifications in immune activation in Arabidopsis thaliana against the root pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Plants exposed to SV (10 kHz) showed abundant H3K27me3 modification in the promoter regions of aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis and cytokinin signaling genes, leading to transcriptional changes that promote immunity. Additionally, 10 kHz SV down-regulated miR397b expression, thus activating three target LACCASE transcripts that mediate cell wall reinforcement via lignin accumulation. Taken together, SV triggers epigenetic modification of genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, defense hormone signaling, and pre-formed defense in A. thaliana, leading to the activation of plant immunity against R. solanacearum.
Highlights
Being sessile, plants have to withstand various harsh environmental conditions such as wind, rain, and pathogen invasion (Basu and Haswell, 2017)
Among these Sound vibration (SV) treatments, the 10 kHz treatment triggered the greatest resistance against R. solanacearum in roots, similar to that triggered by the chemical trigger benzothiadiazole (BTH; positive control) (Figures 1A,B and Supplementary Figure S1)
The results of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that 10 kHz SV potentiated plant immunity in Arabidopsis after inoculation with R. solanacearum (Figure 2A and Supplementary Table S1)
Summary
Plants have to withstand various harsh environmental conditions such as wind, rain, and pathogen invasion (Basu and Haswell, 2017). Sound vibration (SV) is one of the natural stimuli that induce physiological changes in plants (Jung et al, 2018). Recent studies show that SV increases disease resistance in plants. In Arabidopsis thaliana, it has been shown that the chewing sound of an insect causes increased production of plant immunity-related chemicals such as glucosinolates (GSs) and anthocyanins (Appel and Cocroft, 2014). Exposure of Arabidopsis plants to 500 Hz of SV has been shown to increase the production of plant defense-related hormones such as. Sound Activates Plant Root Immunity salicylic acid and jasmonic acid (Ghosh et al, 2016). In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), 0.08–2 kHz SV treatment decreases the population of multiple pests and pathogens, including spider mites, aphids, viruses, and gray mold, in the greenhouse (Tianzhen et al, 2009; Hassanien et al, 2014)
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