<i>AtRAC7/ROP9</i> Small GTPase Regulates <i>A. thaliana</i> Immune Systems in Response to <i>B. cinerea</i> Infection

<i>AtRAC7/ROP9</i> Small GTPase Regulates <i>A. thaliana</i> Immune Systems in Response to <i>B. cinerea</i> Infection

<i>Botrytis cinerea</i> is a necrotrophic fungus that can cause gray mold in over 1400 plant species. Once it is detected by <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, several defense responses are activated against this fungus. The proper activation of these defenses determines plant susc...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ivette García-Soto, Damien Formey, Angélica Mora-Toledo, Luis Cárdenas, Wendy Aragón, Alexandre Tromas, Arianna Duque-Ortiz, Juan Francisco Jiménez-Bremont, Mario Serrano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
<i>B. cinerea</i>
<i>RAC7</i>
actin cytoskeleton
immunity
transcriptional regulation
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/1/591
Description
Summary:<i>Botrytis cinerea</i> is a necrotrophic fungus that can cause gray mold in over 1400 plant species. Once it is detected by <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, several defense responses are activated against this fungus. The proper activation of these defenses determines plant susceptibility or resistance. It has been proposed that the RAC/ROP small GTPases might serve as a molecular link in this process. In this study, we investigate the potential role of the Arabidopsis <i>RAC7</i> gene during infection with <i>B. cinerea</i>. For that, we evaluated <i>A. thaliana RAC7-OX</i> lines, characterized by the overexpression of the <i>RAC7</i> gene. Our results reveal that these <i>RAC7-OX</i> lines displayed increased susceptibility to <i>B. cinerea</i> infection, with enhanced fungal colonization and earlier lesion development. Additionally, they exhibited heightened sensitivity to bacterial infections caused by <i>Pseudomonas syringae</i> and <i>Pectobacterium brasiliense</i>. By characterizing plant canonical defense mechanisms and performing transcriptomic profiling, we determined that <i>RAC7-OX</i> lines impaired the plant transcriptomic response before and during <i>B. cinerea</i> infection. Global pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested that <i>RAC7</i> influences pathogen perception, cell wall homeostasis, signal transduction, and biosynthesis and response to hormones and antimicrobial compounds through actin filament modulation. Herein, we pointed out, for first time, the negative role of <i>RAC7</i> small GTPase during <i>A. thaliana</i>–<i>B. cinerea</i> interaction.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067

Similar Items