Activation tagging of ATHB13 in Arabidopsis thaliana confers broad-spectrum disease resistance

Abstract

Powdery mildew species Oidium neolycopersici (On) can cause serious yield losses in tomato production worldwide. Besides on tomato, On is able to grow and reproduce on Arabidopsis. In this study we screened a collection of activation-tagged Arabidopsis mutants and identified one mutant, 3221, which displayed resistance to On, and in addition showed a reduced stature and serrated leaves. Additional disease tests demonstrated that the 3221 mutant exhibited resistance to downy mildew (Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis) and green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), but retained susceptibility to bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000. The resistance trait and morphological alteration were mutually linked in 3221. Identification of the activation tag insertion site and microarray analysis revealed that ATHB13, a homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factor, was constitutively overexpressed in 3221. Silencing of ATHB13 in 3221 resulted in the loss of both the morphological alteration and resistance, whereas overexpression of the cloned ATHB13 in Col-0 and Col-eds1-2 backgrounds resulted in morphological alteration and resistance. Microarray analysis further revealed that overexpression of ATHB13 influenced the expression of a large number of genes. Previously, it was reported that ATHB13-overexpressing lines conferred tolerance to abiotic stress. Together with our results, it appears that ATHB13 is involved in the crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress resistance pathways.

Cross-tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants: a focus on resistance to aphid infestation

“…Biotic and abiotic factors alter the expression of a large number of transcription factors. For example, the A. thaliana homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factor, ATHB13 influences resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses (Gao et al, 2014;Cabello et al, 2012;Cabello and Chan, 2012).…”

Light response and potential interacting proteins of a grape flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase gene promoter

“…ATHB6 in Arabidopsis is up-regulated by water deficit conditions and exogenous application of abscisic acid (ABA), and functions as a crucial regulator of the ABA signal pathway possibly by interacting with downstream of ABI1 (S€ oderman et al, 1999;Himmelbach et al, 2002). The Arabidopsis ATHB13 is suggested to be involved in the regulation of cotyledon and leaf development as a component of the sucrosedependent signaling pathway, and also participates in the crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress-responsive gene-expression networks (Hanson et al, 2001;Gao et al, 2014). Recent studies have shown that, in non-climacteric fruits, ABA is required for the regulation of ripening-related anthocyanin biosynthesis, and application of exogenous ABA induced accumulation of anthocyanins and flavonols in grape berries (Koyama et al, 2010;Jaakola, 2013).…”

AtHB23 participates in the gene regulatory network controlling root branching, and reveals differences between secondary and tertiary roots

“…AtHB23 has been described as being expressed in the adaxial region of leaves (Kim et al ., ), and also as being involved in hypocotyl elongation and cotyledon expansion under red light (Choi et al ., ). AtHB13 has a role in abiotic and biotic stress responses, pollen hydration and seed germination (Hanson et al ., , ; Cabello and Chan, ; Gao et al ., ; Ribone et al ., ; Silva et al ., ). Both AtHB13 and AtHB23 are involved in the inhibition of inflorescence stem elongation, which drives cell proliferation, although their roles are not redundant (Ribone et al ., ).…”