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Exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones enhance the expression of flagella of Pseudomonas syringae and activate defence responses in plants

Cheng, Feifei; Ma, Anzhou; Zhuang, Guoqiang; Fray, Rupert G.

Authors

Feifei Cheng

Anzhou Ma

Guoqiang Zhuang

Rupert G. Fray



Abstract

In order to cope with pathogens, plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to sense pathogenic attacks and to induce defence responses. The N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing in bacteria regulates diverse physiological processes, including those involved in pathogenicity. In this work, we study the interactions between AHL-producing transgenic tobacco plants and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528 (P. syringae 11528). Both a reduced incidence of disease and decrease in the growth of P. syringae 11528 were observed in AHL-producing plants compared with wild-type plants. The present data indicate that plant-produced AHLs enhance disease resistance against this pathogen. Subsequent RNA-sequencing analysis showed that the exogenous addition of AHLs upregulated the expression of P. syringae 11528 genes for flagella production. Expression levels of plant defence genes in AHL producing and wild-type plants were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. These data showed that plant-produced AHLs activated a wide spectrum of defence responses in plants following inoculation, including the oxidative burst, hypersensitive response, cell wall strengthening, and the production of certain metabolites. These results demonstrate that exogenous AHLs alter the gene expression patterns of pathogens, and plant-produced AHLs either directly or indirectly enhance plant local immunity during the early stage of plant infection.

Citation

Cheng, F., Ma, A., Zhuang, G., & Fray, R. G. (2017). Exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones enhance the expression of flagella of Pseudomonas syringae and activate defence responses in plants. Molecular Plant Pathology, 19(1), 104-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12502

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 17, 2016
Online Publication Date Dec 7, 2016
Publication Date Dec 11, 2017
Deposit Date Jan 8, 2018
Journal Molecular Plant Pathology
Print ISSN 1464-6722
Electronic ISSN 1364-3703
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 19
Issue 1
Pages 104-115
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12502
Keywords defence responses, N-acyl-homoserine lactones, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 11528, quorum sensing, transgenic plants, virulence
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/899601
Publisher URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mpp.12502/abstract
Additional Information Cheng, F., Ma, A., Zhuang, G. and Fray, R. G. (2018), Exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones enhance the expression of flagella of Pseudomonas syringae and activate defence responses in plants. Molecular Plant Pathology, 19: 104–115. doi:10.1111/mpp.12502
Contract Date Jan 8, 2018