Systemic Acquired Resistance Gene Research Articles

Induction of Disease Resistance in Cucumber by Acibenzolar-S-methyl and Expression of Resistance-related Genes.

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is an inducible defense mechanism that plays a central role in plant disease resistance and can be induced by different compounds. In this study, acibenzolar-S-methyl (benzo [1, 2, 3] thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester) was shown to induce acquired resistance in cucumber. The signal(s), which induced resistance against scab (pathogen: Cladosporium cucumerinum), was systemically transferred as early as 4 to 6hr after treatment with acibenzolar-S-methyl. Expression of resistance-related genes, i.e., genes of acidic peroxidase, acidic class III chitinase and acidic β-1, 3-glucanase, was also induced by the treatment. Although systemic expression of peroxidase and chitinase genes was induced not only in the first leaves treated with acibenzolar-S-methyl but also in the untreated upper leaves, the induction of β-1, 3-glucanase gene was not systemically enhanced in cucumber plants within 24hr of the treatment. Since resistance against C. cucumerinum was already induced by 24hr after acibenzolar-S-methyl treatment, β-1, 3-glucanase might not participate in the protection against attack by the pathogen at an early stage in the SAR induced by this compound. Thus, acibenzolar-S-methyl seems to activate the SAR signal transduction pathway in cucumber plants. Subsequently, this compound rapidly induces the expression of SAR genes and disease resistance in the plants.

Induced resistance responses in maize.

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a widely distributed plant defense system that confers broad-spectrum disease resistance and is accompanied by coordinate expression of the so-called SAR genes. This type of resistance and SAR gene expression can be mimicked with chemical inducers of resistance. Here, we report that chemical inducers of resistance are active in maize. Chemical induction increases resistance to downy mildew and activates expression of the maize PR-1 and PR-5 genes. These genes are also coordinately activated by pathogen infection and function as indicators of the defense reaction. Specifically, after pathogen infection, the PR-1 and PR-5 genes are induced more rapidly and more strongly in an incompatible than in a compatible interaction. In addition, we show that monocot lesion mimic plants also express these defense-related genes and that they have increased levels of salicylic acid after lesions develop, similar to pathogeninfected maize plants. The existence of chemically inducible disease resistance and PR-1 and PR-5 gene expression in maize indicates that maize is similar to dicots in many aspects of induced resistance. This reinforces the notion of an ancient plant-inducible defense pathway against pathogen attack that is shared between monocots and dicots.

Salicylate-independent lesion formation in Arabidopsis lsd mutants.

In many interactions of plants with pathogens, the primary host defense reaction is accompanied by plant cell death at the site of infection. The resulting lesions are correlated with the establishment of an inducible resistance in plants called systemic acquired resistance (SAR), for which salicylic acid (SA) accumulation is a critical signaling event in Arabidopsis and tobacco. In Arabidopsis, the lesions simulating disease (lsd) mutants spontaneously develop lesions in the absence of pathogen infection. Furthermore, lsd mutants express SAR marker genes when lesions are present and are resistant to the same spectrum of pathogens as plants activated for SAR by necrogenic pathogen infection. To assess the epistatic relationship between SA accumulation and cell death, transgenic Arabidopsis unable to accumulate SA due to the expression of the salicylate hydroxylase (nahG) gene were used in crosses with the dominant mutants lsd2 or lsd4. Progeny from the crosses were inhibited for SAR gene expression and disease resistance. However, these progeny retained the spontaneous cell death phenotype similar to siblings not expressing nahG. Because lesions form in the absence of SA accumulation for isd2 and lsd4, a model is suggested in which lesion formation in these two mutants is determined prior to SA accumulation in SAR signal transduction. By contrast, the loss of SAR gene expression and disease resistance in nahG-expressing lsd mutants indicates that these traits are dependent upon SA accumulation in the SAR signal transduction pathway.

Physiological and Molecular Characteristics of Elicitin-Induced Systemic Acquired Resistance in Tobacco.

Elicitins are low molecular weight proteins secreted by all Phytophthora species analyzed so far. Application of the purified proteins to tobacco Nicotiana tabacum leads to the induction of resistance to subsequent inoculations with the black shank-causing agent, Phytophthora parasitica var nicotianae. In this paper, we describe the systemic characteristics of elicitin-induced acquired resistance in tobacco. Elicitin application is followed by the rapid translocation of the protein in the plant. The basic elicitin, cryptogein, induces necrosis formation in the leaves, which results from accumulation of the protein in these organs. Necrosis does not seem to be essential for the establishment of systemic acquired resistance (SAR), since resistance induced by the acidic elicitin, capsicein, is not accompanied by the development of visible symptoms on the leaves. Both elicitins trigger the coordinate accumulation of transcripts from nine genes, previously described to be expressed during establishment of SAR. Additionally, elicitin treatment leads to the activation of the multiple response gene str 246. In leaves, transcript accumulation was found to be higher in all cases in response to cryptogein compared to capsicein treatment. These results, along with northern hybridization analysis following infiltration of leaves with cryptogein, indicate that SAR genes appear to be expressed locally, corresponding to necrosis formation as well as systemically during induction of resistance. To our knowledge, elicitins are the only well-characterized, pathogen-derived molecules that trigger SAR in a plant.

Characterization of tobacco plants expressing a bacterial salicylate hydroxylase gene

Transgenic tobacco plants that express the bacterial nahG gene encoding salicylate hydroxylase have been shown to accumulate very little salicylic acid and to be defective in their ability to induce systemic acquired resistance (SAR). In recent experiments using transgenic NahG tobacco and Arabidopsis plants, we have also demonstrated that salicylic acid plays a central role in both disease susceptibility and genetic resistance. In this paper, we further characterize tobacco plants that express the salicylate hydroxylase enzyme. We show that tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) inoculation of NahG tobacco leaves induces the accumulation of the nahG mRNA in the pathogen infected leaves, presumably due to enhanced stabilization of the bacterial mRNA. SAR-associated genes are expressed in the TMV-infected leaves, but this is localized to the area surrounding necrotic lesions. Localized acquired resistance (LAR) is not induced in the TMV-inoculated NahG plants suggesting that LAR, like SAR, is dependent on SA accumulation. When SA is applied to nahG-expressing leave's SAR gene expression does not result. We have confirmed earlier reports that the salicylate hydroxylase enzyme has a narrow substrate specificity and we find that catechol, the breakdown product of salicylic acid, neither induces acquired resistance nor prevents the SA-dependent induction of the SAR genes.

Suppression and Restoration of Lesion Formation in Arabidopsis lsd Mutants.

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a broad-spectrum, systemic defense response that is activated in many plant species after pathogen infection. We have previously described Arabidopsis mutants that constitutively express SAR and concomitantly develop lesions simulating disease (lsd). Here, we describe two new mutants, lsd6 and lsd7, that develop spontaneous necrotic lesions and possess elevated levels of salicylic acid (SA) as well as heightened disease resistance, similar to the previously characterized lsd and accelerated cell death (acd2) mutants. Genetic analysis of lsd6 and lsd7 showed that the mutant phenotypes segregated as simple dominant traits. When crossed with transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing the SA-degrading enzyme salicylate hydroxylase, the F1 progeny showed suppression of both SAR gene expression and resistance. In addition, salicylate hydroxylase suppressed lesion formation in the F1 progeny, suggesting that SA or some SA-dependent process may have a role in pathogen-associated cell death. Surprisingly, lesions were restored in the lsd6 F1 progeny after the application of either 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid or SA. Lesions were not restored by treatment with either compound in the lsd7 F1 plants. Our findings demonstrate that steps early in the signal transduction pathway leading to SAR and disease resistance are potentiated by later events, suggesting feedback control of lesion formation.

Is hydrogen peroxide a second messenger of salicylic acid in systemic acquired resistance?

Elevated levels of salicylic acid (SA) are required for the induction of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in plants. Recently, a salicylic acid‐binding protein (SABP) isolated from tobacco was shown to have catalase activity. Based on this finding elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were postulated to act as a second messenger of SA in the SAR signal transduction pathway. A series of experiments have been carried out to clarify the role of H2O2 in SAR‐signaling. No increase of H2O2 was found during the onset of SAR. Induction of the SAR gene, PR‐1, by H2O2 and H2O2‐inducing chemicals is strongly suppressed in transgenic tobacco plants that express the bacterial salicylate hydroxylase gene, indicating that H2O2 induction of SAR genes is dependent on SA accumulation. Following treatment of plants with increasing concentrations of H2O2, a dose‐dependent accumulation of total SA species was found, suggesting that H2O2 may induce PR‐1 gene expression through SA accumulation. While the results do not support a role for H2O2 in SAR signaling, it is suggested that SA inhibition of catalase activity may be important in tissues undergoing a hypersensitive response.

Arabidopsis signal transduction mutant defective in chemically and biologically induced disease resistance.

Plants possess multiple resistance mechanisms that guard against pathogen attack. Among these are inducible systems such as systemic acquired resistance (SAR). SAR is activated by pathogen exposure and leads to an increase in salicylic acid (SA), high-level expression of SAR-related genes, and resistance to a spectrum of pathogens. To identify components of the signal transduction pathways regulating SAR, a mutant screen was developed that uses 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid as an activator of SAR gene expression and pathogen resistance, followed by assays for resistance to the fungal pathogen Peronospora parasitica. Mutants from this screen were subsequently examined to assess their defense responses. We describe here a recessive mutation that causes a phenotype of insensitivity to chemical and biological inducers of SAR genes and resistance. These data indicate the existence of a common signaling pathway that couples these diverse stimuli to induction of SAR genes and resistance. Because of its non-inducible immunity phenotype, we call this mutant nim1. Although nim1 plants fail to respond to SA, they retain the ability to accumulate wild-type levels of SA, a probable endogenous signal for SAR. Further, the ability of nim1 plants to support growth of normally incompatible races of a fungal pathogen indicates a role for this pathway in expression of genetically determined resistance, consistent with earlier findings for transgenic plants engineered to break down SA. These results suggest that the wild-type NIM1 gene product functions in a pathway regulating acquired resistance, at a position downstream of SA accumulation and upstream of SAR gene induction and expression of resistance.

2,6-Dichloroisonicotinic Acid-Induced Resistance to Pathogens Without the Accumulation of Salicylic Acid

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a pathogen-inducible defense mechanism effective against a wide range of pathogens. Salicylic acid (SA) is an essential component of this pathway, as transgenic plants unable to accumulate salicylic acid are incapable of developing SAR. Here, we show that the synthetic chemical 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA) acts via the SAR signal transduction pathway. However, it does not induce SA accumulation during the time required for the induction of SAR gene expression or resistance to TMV. Furthermore, INA can induce both resistance and SAR gene expression in transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis plants that cannot accumulate SA. Thus, INA apparently activates a component of the SAR signaling pathway downstream of SA accumulation

Acquired Resistance Signal Transduction in Arabidopsis Is Ethylene Independent.

To clarify the role of ethylene in systemic acquired resistance (SAR), we conducted experiments using Arabidopsis ethylene response mutants. Plants that are nonresponsive to ethylene (i.e., [theta]tr1 and [theta]in2) showed normal sensitivity to the SAR-inducing chemicals salicylic acid (SA) and 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid with respect to SAR gene induction and pathogen resistance. This indicated that chemically induced SAR is not an ethylene-dependent process in Arabidopsis. Ethephon, an ethylene-releasing chemical, induced SAR gene expression in both the wild type and ethylene mutants, whereas ethylene alone did not, suggesting that induction of these genes by ethephon is not due to the action of ethylene. Furthermore, transgenic plants expressing salicylate hydroxylase, a bacterial enzyme that degrades SA to catechol, did not accumulate SAR mRNAs in response to ethephon. Thus, SAR gene induction by ethephon appears to be mediated through SA. Other experiments suggested that ethylene may play a role in SAR by enhancing tissue sensitivity to the action of SA.

Coordinate Gene Activity in Response to Agents That Induce Systemic Acquired Resistance.

In a variety of plant species, the development of necrotic lesions in response to pathogen infection leads to induction of generalized disease resistance in uninfected tissues. A well-studied example of this "immunity" reaction is systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in tobacco. SAR is characterized by the development of a disease-resistant state in plants that have reacted hypersensitively to previous infection by tobacco mosaic virus. Here, we show that the onset of SAR correlates with the coordinate induction of nine classes of mRNAs. Salicylic acid, a candidate for the endogenous signal that activates the resistant state, induces expression of the same "SAR genes." A novel synthetic immunization compound, methyl-2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid, also induces both resistance and SAR gene expression. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that induced resistance results at least partially from coordinate expression of these SAR genes. A model is presented that ties pathogen-induced necrosis to the biosynthesis of salicylic acid and the induction of SAR.