Phosphorylation of an ethylene response factor by MPK3/MPK6 mediates negative feedback regulation of pathogen-induced ethylene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

Xiaoyang Wang; Huicong Meng; Yuxi Tang; Yashi Zhang; Yunxia He; Jinggeng Zhou; Xiangzong Meng

doi:10.1016/j.jgg.2022.04.012

Volume 49 Issue 8

Aug. 2022

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Article Navigation > Journal of Genetics and Genomics > 2022 > 49(8): 810-822

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Phosphorylation of an ethylene response factor by MPK3/MPK6 mediates negative feedback regulation of pathogen-induced ethylene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2022.04.012

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200233, China

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We thank Drs. Ping He, Libo Shan, Shuqun Zhang and Bo Li for providing vectors. We also thank Dr. Ji-Ming Gong and the ABRC for providing Arabidopsis mutant seeds. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31970282 and 32170286 to X.M.).

Received Date: 2022-01-27
Accepted Date: 2022-04-16
Rev Recd Date: 2022-04-16
Publish Date: 2022-05-11

Abstract

Abstract

Plants under pathogen attack produce high levels of the gaseous phytohormone ethylene to induce plant defense responses via the ethylene signaling pathway. The 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS) is a critical rate-limiting enzyme of ethylene biosynthesis. Transcriptional and post-translational upregulation of ACS2 and ACS6 by the mitogen-activated protein kinases MPK3 and MPK6 are previously shown to be crucial for pathogen-induced ethylene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Here, we report that the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea-induced ethylene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis is under the negative feedback regulation by ethylene signaling pathway. The ethylene response factor ERF1A is further found to act downstream of ethylene signaling to negatively regulate the B. cinerea-induced ethylene biosynthesis via indirectly suppressing the expression of ACS2 and ACS6. Interestingly, ERF1A is shown to also upregulate defensin genes directly and therefore promote Arabidopsis resistance to B.cinerea. Furthermore, ERF1A is identified to be a substrate of MPK3 and MPK6, which phosphoactivate ERF1A to enhance its functions in suppressing ethylene biosynthesis and inducing defensin gene expression. Taken together, our data reveal that ERF1A and its phosphorylation by MPK3/MPK6 not only mediate the negative-feedback regulation of the B.cinerea-induced ethylene biosynthesis, but also upregulate defensin gene expression to increase Arabidopsis resistance to B. cinerea.
- Ethylene response factor,
- Mitogen-activated protein kinase,
- Protein phosphorylation,
- Ethylene biosynthesis,
- Defensin gene induction,
- Disease resistance

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References(36)

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