Browsing by Author "Rojas, Clemencia M."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

General Control Non-repressible-4 (GCN4) degrades 14-3-3 and the RIN4 complex to regulate stomatal aperture with implications on nonhost disease resistance and drought tolerance
(American Society of Plant Biologists, 2017) Kaundal, Amita; Ramu, Vemanna S; Oh, Sunhee; Lee, Seonghee; Pant, Bikram; Lee, Hee-Kyung; Rojas, Clemencia M.; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa; Mysore, Kirankumar S.
Plants have complex and adaptive innate immune responses against pathogen infections. Stomata are key entry points for many plant pathogens. Both pathogens and plants regulate stomatal aperture for pathogen entry and defense, respectively. Not all plant proteins involved in stomatal aperture regulation have been identified. Here we report general control non-repressible-4 (GCN4), an AAA+-ATPase family protein, as one of the key proteins regulating stomatal aperture during biotic and abiotic stress. Silencing of GCN4 in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis compromises host and nonhost disease resistance due to open stomata during pathogen infection. AtGCN4 overexpression plants have reduced H+-ATPase activity, less responsive stomata to coronatine or fusicoccin, have reduced pathogen entry, and confers drought tolerance. This study also demonstrates that AtGCN4 interacts with RIN4 and 14-3-3 proteins and suggest that GCN4 may degrade RIN4 and 14-3-3 proteins via a proteasome mediated pathway to reduce the activity of plasma membrane H+-ATPase complex thus reducing proton pump activity to close stomata.
Regulation of primary plant metabolism during plant-pathogen interactions and its contribution to plant defense
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2014) Rojas, Clemencia M.; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa; Tzin, Vered; Mysore, Kirankumar S.
Plants are constantly exposed to microorganisms in the environment and, as a result, have evolved intricate mechanisms to recognize and defend themselves against potential pathogens. One of these responses is the downregulation of photosynthesis and other processes associated with primary metabolism that are essential for plant growth. It has been suggested that the energy saved by downregulation of primary metabolism is diverted and used for defense responses. However, several studies have shown that upregulation of primary metabolism also occurs during plant-pathogen interactions. We propose that upregulation of primary metabolism modulates signal transduction cascades that lead to plant defense responses. In support of this thought, we here compile evidence from the literature to show that upon exposure to pathogens or elicitors, plants induce several genes associated with primary metabolic pathways, such as those involved in the synthesis or degradation of carbohydrates, amino acids and lipids. In addition, genetic studies have confirmed the involvement of these metabolic pathways in plant defense responses. This review provides a new perspective highlighting the relevance of primary metabolism in regulating plant defense against pathogens with the hope to stimulate further research in this area.
The small GTPase, nucleolar GTP-binding protein 1 (NOG1), has a novel role in plant innate immunity
(Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Lee, Seonghee; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa; Kang, Miyoung; Rojas, Clemencia M.; Tang, Yuhong; Oh, Sunhee; Choudhury, Swarup Roy; Lee, Hee-Kyung; Ishiga, Yasuhiro; Allen, Randy D.; Pandey, Sona; Mysore, Kirankumar S.
Plant defense responses at stomata and apoplast are the most important early events during plant-bacteria interactions. The key components for the signaling of stomatal defense and nonhost resistance have not been fully characterized. Here we report the newly identified small GTPase, Nucleolar GTP-binding protein 1 (NOG1), functions for plant immunity against bacterial pathogens. Virus-induced gene silencing of NOG1 compromised nonhost resistance in N. benthamiana and tomato. Comparative genomic analysis showed that two NOG1 copies are present in all known plant species: NOG1-1 and NOG1-2. Gene downregulation and overexpression studies of NOG1-1 and NOG1-2 in Arabidopsis revealed the novel function of these genes in nonhost resistance and stomatal defense against bacterial pathogens, respectively. Specially, NOG1-2 regulates guard cell signaling in response to biotic and abiotic stimuli through jasmonic acid (JA)- and abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated pathways. The results here provide valuable information on the new functional role of small GTPase, NOG1, in guard cell signaling and early plant defense in response to bacterial pathogens.
Two chloroplast-localized proteins: AtNHR2A and AtNHR2B, contribute to callose deposition during nonhost disease resistance in Arabidopsis
(American Phytopathological Society, 2018) Singh, Raksha; Lee, Seonghee; Ortega, Laura; Ramu, Vemanna S.; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa; Blancaflor, Elison B.; Rojas, Clemencia M.; Mysore, Kirankumar S.
Plants are naturally resistant to most pathogens through a broad and durable defense response called nonhost disease resistance. Nonhost disease resistance is a complex process that includes preformed physical and chemical barriers and induced responses. In spite of its importance, many components of nonhost disease resistance remain to be identified and characterized. Using virus-induced gene silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana, we discovered a novel gene that we named NbNHR2 (N. benthamiana nonhost resistance 2). NbNHR2-silenced plants were susceptible to the non-adapted pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1 that does not cause disease in wild-type or non-silenced N. benthamiana plants. We found two orthologous genes in Arabidopsis thaliana: AtNHR2A and AtNHR2B. Similar to the results obtained in N. benthamiana, Atnhr2a and Atnhr2b mutants were susceptible to the non-adapted bacterial pathogen of A. thaliana, P. syringae pv. tabaci. We further found that these mutants were also defective in callose deposition. AtNHR2A and AtNHR2B fluorescent protein fusions transiently expressed in N. benthamiana localized predominantly to chloroplasts and a few unidentified dynamic puncta. RFP-AtNHR2A and AtNHR2B-GFP displayed overlapping signals in chloroplasts indicating that the two proteins could interact; a notion supported by co-immunoprecipitation studies. We propose that AtNHR2A and AtNHR2B are new components of a chloroplast-signaling pathway that activates callose deposition to the cell wall in response to bacterial pathogens.