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

Abstract

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.