Transcriptome-based analysis of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades in the rice response to Xanthomonas oryzae infection

Abstract

BackgroundMitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascades, with each cascade consisting of a MAP kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK), a MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK), and a MAP kinase (MAPK), play important roles in dicot plant responses to pathogen infection. However, no single MAP kinase cascade has been identified in rice, and the functions of MAP kinase cascades in rice − pathogen interactions are unknown.ResultsTo explore the contribution of MAP kinase cascade in rice in response to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), which causes bacterial blight, one of the devastating diseases of rice worldwide, we performed a comprehensive expression analysis of rice MAP kinase cascade genes. We transcriptionally analyzed all the 74 MAPKKK genes, 8 MAPKK, and 17 MAPK genes in two pairs of susceptible and resistant rice lines, with each pair having the same genetic background, to determine the rice response to Xoo infection. The expression of a large number of MAP kinase cascade genes changed in response to infection, and some of the genes also showed different expression in resistant and susceptible reactions. In addition, some MAPKKK genes co-expressed with MAPKK and/or MAPK genes, and MAPKK genes co-expressed with MAPK genes.ConclusionsThese results provide a new perspective regarding the putative roles of rice MAP kinase gene candicates and potential cascade targets for further characterization in rice–pathogen interactions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12284-014-0038-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

OsMAPKKK63 is involved in salt stress response and seed dormancy control

“…In rice, approximately 75 MAPKKKs, 8 MAPKKs, and 17 MAPKs have been identified. 1,[3][4][5] Many studies have shown that MAPKKs and MAPKs are involved in diverse cellular processes, such as biotic and abiotic stress responses, plant development, and secondary metabolism. Compared with MAPKKs and MAPKs, relatively few MAPKKKs of rice in particular and plant, in general, have been characterized.…”

Transcriptome analysis confers a complex disease resistance network in wild rice Oryza meyeriana against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

“…In fact, MAPK cascades have been reported to play important roles, especially in dicot plant responses to pathogen infection. Further, a large number of MAPK genes were also demonstrated to be differentially expressed in response to Xoo infection in both of the resistant and susceptible rice lines43. In terms of these missed components of MAPK cascades, the innate immunity of O. meyeriana may be different from that of A. thaliana and rice.…”

MAPK kinase 10.2 promotes disease resistance and drought tolerance by activating different MAPKs in rice

“…Plant genomes contain relatively less MAPKK genes compared with the numbers of MAPKKK and MAPK genes. For example, the Arabidopsis genome has 60 MAPKKK, 10 MAPKK and 20 MAPK genes (Ichimura et al ., ); the rice genome has 74 MAPKKK (MPKKK), eight MAPKK (MPKK) and 17 MAPK (MPK) genes (Hamel et al ., ; Reyna and Yang, ; Rao et al ., ; Yang et al ., ). This characteristic implies that multiple signal flows converge at the MAPKK level.…”

“…MPKKK1 (also known as EDR1 ) and MPKKK6 (also known as DSM1 ) were reported to regulate rice resistance to bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ) and drought tolerance, respectively (Ning et al ., ; Shen et al ., ; Yang et al ., ). MPK3 (LOC_Os03 g17700; also known as MPK5 ), the ortholog of Arabidopsis MPK3 , negatively regulates rice resistance to blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae and positively regulates drought and submergence tolerance (Xiong and Yang, ; Singh and Sinha, ).…”