Translational Regulation of Metabolic Dynamics during Effector-Triggered Immunity

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that global translational reprogramming is an early activation event in pattern-triggered immunity, when plants recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns. However, it is not fully known whether translational regulation also occurs in subsequent immune responses, such as effector-triggered immunity (ETI). In this study, we performed genome-wide ribosome profiling in Arabidopsis upon RPS2-mediated ETI activation and discovered that specific groups of genes were translationally regulated, mostly in coordination with transcription. These genes encode enzymes involved in aromatic amino acid, phenylpropanoid, camalexin, and sphingolipid metabolism. The functional significance of these components in ETI was confirmed by genetic and biochemical analyses. Our findings provide new insights into diverse translational regulation of plant immune responses and demonstrate that translational coordination of metabolic gene expression is an important strategy for ETI.