Analysis of the N gene hypersensitive response induced by a fluorescently tagged tobacco mosaic virus

Parallel, Continuous Monitoring and Quantification of Programmed Cell Death in Plant Tissue

Accurate quantification of hypersensitive response (HR) programmed cell death is imperative for understanding plant defense mechanisms and developing disease-resistant crop varieties. Here, a phenotyping platform for rapid, continuous-time, and quantitative assessment of HR is demonstrated: Parallel Automated Spectroscopy Tool for Electrolyte Leakage (PASTEL). Compared to traditional HR assays, PASTEL significantly improves temporal resolution and has high sensitivity, facilitating detection of microscopic levels of cell death. Validation is performed by transiently expressing the effector protein AVRblb2 in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana (expressing the corresponding resistance protein Rpi-blb2) to reliably induce HR. Detection of cell death is achieved at microscopic intensities, where leaf tissue appears healthy to the naked eye one week after infiltration. PASTEL produces large amounts of frequency domain impedance data captured continuously. This data is used to develop supervised machine-learning (ML) models for classification of HR. Input data (inclusive of the entire tested concentration range) is classified as HR-positive or negative with 84.1% mean accuracy (F1 score = 0.75) at 1 h and with 87.8% mean accuracy (F1 score = 0.81) at 22 h. With PASTEL and the ML models produced in this work, it is possible to phenotype disease resistance in plants in hours instead of days to weeks.

Is localized acquired resistance the mechanism for effector-triggered disease resistance in plants?

Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) are intracellular immune receptors that are activated by their direct or indirect interactions with virulence effectors. NLR activation triggers a strong immune response and consequent disease resistance. However, the NLR-driven immune response can be targeted by virulence effectors. It is thus unclear how immune activation can occur concomitantly with virulence effector suppression of immunity. Recent observations suggest that the activation of effector-triggered immunity does not sustain defence gene expression in tissues in contact with the hemi-biotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Instead, strong defence was observed on the border of the infection area. This response is reminiscent of localized acquired resistance (LAR). LAR is a strong defence response occurring in a ~2 mm area around cells in contact with the pathogen and probably serves to prevent the spread of pathogens. Here we propose that effector-triggered immunity is essentially a quarantining mechanism to prevent systemic pathogen spread and disease, and that the induction of LAR is a key component of this mechanism.

A Xanthomonas transcription activator-like effector is trapped in nonhost plants for immunity

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight in rice, delivers transcription activator-like effector (TALE) proteins into host cells to activate susceptibility or resistance (R) genes that promote disease or immunity, respectively. Nonhost plants serve as potential reservoirs of R genes; consequently, nonhost R genes may trap TALEs to trigger an immune response. In this study, we screened 17 Xoo TALEs for their ability to induce a hypersensitive response (HR) in the nonhost plant Nicotiana benthamiana (Nb); only AvrXa10 elicited an HR when transiently expressed in Nb. The HR generated by AvrXa10 required both the central repeat region and the activation domain, suggesting a specific interaction between AvrXa10 and a potential R-like gene in nonhost plants. Evans blue staining and ion leakage measurements confirmed that the AvrXa10-triggered HR was a form of cell death, and the transient expression of AvrXa10 in Nb induced immune responses. Genes targeted by AvrXa10 in the Nb genome were identified by transcriptome profiling and prediction of effector binding sites. Using several approaches (in vivo reporter assays, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, targeted designer TALEs, and on-spot gene silencing), we confirmed that AvrXa10 targets NbZnFP1, a C2H2-type zinc finger protein that resides in the nucleus. Functional analysis indicated that overexpression of NbZnFP1 and its rice orthologs triggered cell death in rice protoplasts. An NbZnFP1 ortholog was also identified in tomato and was specifically activated by AvrXa10. These results demonstrate that NbZnFP1 is a nonhost R gene that traps AvrXa10 to promote plant immunity in Nb.

Plant death caused by inefficient induction of antiviral R-gene-mediated resistance may function as a suicidal population resistance mechanism

Land plant genomes carry tens to hundreds of Resistance (R) genes to combat pathogens. The induction of antiviral R-gene-mediated resistance often results in a hypersensitive response (HR), which is characterized by virus containment in the initially infected tissues and programmed cell death (PCD) of the infected cells. Alternatively, systemic HR (SHR) is sometimes observed in certain R gene-virus combinations, such that the virus systemically infects the plant and PCD induction follows the spread of infection, resulting in systemic plant death. SHR has been suggested to be the result of inefficient resistance induction; however, no quantitative comparison has been performed to support this hypothesis. In this study, we report that the average number of viral genomes that establish cell infection decreased by 28.7% and 12.7% upon HR induction by wild-type cucumber mosaic virus and SHR induction by a single-amino acid variant, respectively. These results suggest that a small decrease in the level of resistance induction can change an HR to an SHR. Although SHR appears to be a failure of resistance at the individual level, our simulations imply that suicidal individual death in SHR may function as an antiviral mechanism at the population level, by protecting neighboring uninfected kin plants.

Under fire-simultaneous volatilome and transcriptome analysis unravels fine-scale responses of tansy chemotypes to dual herbivore attack

BACKGROUND

Tansy plants (Tanacetum vulgare L.) are known for their high intraspecific chemical variation, especially of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the terpenoid compound group. These VOCs are closely involved in plant-insect interactions and, when profiled, can be used to classify plants into groups known as chemotypes. Tansy chemotypes have been shown to influence plant-aphid interactions, however, to date no information is available on the response of different tansy chemotypes to simultaneous herbivory by more than one insect species.

RESULTS

Using a multi-cuvette system, we investigated the responses of five tansy chemotypes to feeding by sucking and/or chewing herbivores (aphids and caterpillars; Metopeurum fuscoviride Stroyan and Spodoptera littoralis Boisduval). Herbivory by caterpillars following aphid infestation led to a plant chemotype-specific change in the patterns of terpenoids stored in trichome hairs and in VOC emissions. The transcriptomic analysis of a plant chemotype represents the first de novo assembly of a transcriptome in tansy and demonstrates priming effects of aphids on a subsequent herbivory. Overall, we show that the five chemotypes do not react in the same way to the two herbivores. As expected, we found that caterpillar feeding increased VOC emissions, however, a priori aphid infestation only led to a further increase in VOC emissions for some chemotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

We were able to show that different chemotypes respond to the double herbivore attack in different ways, and that pre-treatment with aphids had a priming effect on plants when they were subsequently exposed to a chewing herbivore. If neighbouring chemotypes in a field population react differently to herbivory/dual herbivory, this could possibly have effects from the individual level to the group level. Individuals of some chemotypes may respond more efficiently to herbivory stress than others, and in a group environment these "louder" chemotypes may affect the local insect community, including the natural enemies of herbivores, and other neighbouring plants.

Plant hypersensitive response vs pathogen ingression: Death of few gives life to others

The hypersensitive response (HR) is a defense action against pathogen ingression. Typically, HR is predictable with the appearance of the dead, brown cells along with visible lesions. Although death during HR can be limited to the cells in direct contact with pathogens, yet cell death can also spread away from the infection site. The variety in morphologies of plant cell death proposes involvement of different pathways for triggering HR. It is considered that, despite the differences, HR in plants performs the resembling functions like that of animal programmed cell death (PCD) for confining pathogen progression. HR, in fact, crucially initiates systemic signals for activation of defense in distal plant parts that ultimately results in systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Therefore, HR can be separated from other local immune actions/responses at the infection site. HR comprises of serial events inclusive of transcriptional reprograming, Ca²⁺ influx, oxidative bursts and phyto-hormonal signaling. Although a lot of work has been done on HR in plants but many questions regarding mechanisms and consequences of HRs remain unaddressed.We have summarized the mechanistic roles and cellular events of plant cells during HR in defense regulation. Roles of different genes during HR have been discussed to clarify genetic control of HR in plants. Generally existing ambiguities about HR and programmed cell death at the reader level has been addressed.

Single Amino Acid Substitutions in the Cucumber Mosaic Virus 1a Protein Induce Necrotic Cell Death in Virus-Inoculated Leaves without Affecting Virus Multiplication

When Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Col-0 was inoculated with a series of reassortant viruses created by exchanging viral genomic RNAs between two strains of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), CMV(Y), and CMV(H), cell death developed in the leaves inoculated with reassortant CMV carrying CMV(H) RNA1 encoding 1a protein, but not in noninoculated upper leaves. In general, cell death in virus-infected plants is a critical event for virus survival because virus multiplication is completely dependent on host cell metabolism. However, interestingly, this observed cell death did not affect either virus multiplication in the inoculated leaves or systemic spread to noninoculated upper leaves. Furthermore, the global gene expression pattern of the reassortant CMV-inoculated leaves undergoing cell death was clearly different from that in hypersensitive response (HR) cell death, which is coupled with resistance to CMV. These results indicated that the observed cell death does not appear to be HR cell death but rather necrotic cell death unrelated to CMV resistance. Interestingly, induction of this necrotic cell death depended on single amino acid substitutions in the N-terminal region surrounding the methyltransferase domain of the 1a protein. Thus, development of necrotic cell death might not be induced by non-specific damage as a result of virus multiplication, but by a virus protein-associated mechanism. The finding of CMV 1a protein-mediated induction of necrotic cell death in A. thaliana, which is not associated with virus resistance and HR cell death, has the potential to provide a new pathosystem to study the role of cell death in virus–host plant interactions.

The plant hypersensitive response: concepts, control and consequences

The hypersensitive defence response is found in all higher plants and is characterized by a rapid cell death at the point of pathogen ingress. It is usually associated with pathogen resistance, though, in specific situations, it may have other consequences such as pathogen susceptibility, growth retardation and, over evolutionary timescales, speciation. Due to the potentially severe costs of inappropriate activation, plants employ multiple mechanisms to suppress inappropriate activation of HR and to constrain it after activation. The ubiquity of this response among higher plants despite its costs suggests that it is an extremely effective component of the plant immune system.

The Tug-of-War between Plants and Viruses: Great Progress and Many Remaining Questions

Plants are persistently challenged by various phytopathogens. To protect themselves, plants have evolved multilayered surveillance against all pathogens. For intracellular parasitic viruses, plants have developed innate immunity, RNA silencing, translation repression, ubiquitination-mediated and autophagy-mediated protein degradation, and other dominant resistance gene-mediated defenses. Plant viruses have also acquired diverse strategies to suppress and even exploit host defense machinery to ensure their survival. A better understanding of the defense and counter-defense between plants and viruses will obviously benefit from the development of efficient and broad-spectrum virus resistance for sustainable agriculture. In this review, we summarize the cutting edge of knowledge concerning the defense and counter-defense between plants and viruses, and highlight the unexploited areas that are especially worth investigating in the near future.

Alpha-momorcharin enhances Tobacco mosaic virus resistance in tobaccoNN by manipulating jasmonic acid-salicylic acid crosstalk

Alpha-momorcharin (α-MMC) is a type-I ribosome inactivating protein (RIP) with a molecular weight of 29 kDa found in plants. This protein has been shown to be effective against a broad range of human viruses and also has anti-tumor activities. However, the mechanism by which α-MMC induces plant defense responses and regulates the N gene to promote resistance to the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is still not clear. By using pharmacological and infection experiments, we found that α-MMC enhances TMV resistance of tobacco plants containing the N gene (tobaccoNN). Our results showed that plants pretreated with 0.5 mg/ml α-MMC could relieve TMV-induced oxidative damage, had enhanced the expression of the N gene and increased biosynthesis of jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). Moreover, transcription of JA and SA signaling pathway genes were increased, and their expression persisted for a longer period of time in plants pretreated with α-MMC compared with those pretreated with water. Importantly, exogenous application of 1-Aminobenzotriazole (ABT, SA inhibitor) and ibuprofen (JA inhibitor) reduced α-MMC induced plant resistance under viral infection. Thus, our results revealed that α-MMC enhances TMV resistance of tobaccoNN plants by manipulating JA-SA crosstalk.

Cell Death Is Not Sufficient for the Restriction of Potato Virus Y Spread in Hypersensitive Response-Conferred Resistance in Potato

Hypersensitive response (HR)-conferred resistance to viral infection restricts the virus spread and is accompanied by the induction of cell death, manifested as the formation of necrotic lesions. While it is known that salicylic acid is the key component in the orchestration of the events restricting viral spread in HR, the exact function of the cell death in resistance is still unknown. We show that potato virus Y (PVY) can be detected outside the cell death zone in Ny-1-mediated HR in potato plants (cv. Rywal), observed as individual infected cells or small clusters of infected cells outside the cell death zone. By exploiting the features of temperature dependent Ny-1-mediated resistance, we confirmed that the cells at the border of the cell death zone are alive and harbor viable PVY that is able to reinitiate infection. To get additional insights into this phenomenon we further studied the dynamics of both cell death zone expansion and occurrence of viral infected cell islands outside it. We compared the response of Rywal plants to their transgenic counterparts, impaired in SA accumulation (NahG-Rywal), where the lesions occur but the spread of the virus is not restricted. We show that the virus is detected outside the cell death zone in all lesion developmental stages of HR lesions. We also measured the dynamics of lesions expansion in both genotypes. We show that while rapid lesion expansion is observed in SA-depleted plants, virus spread is even faster. On the other hand the majority of analyzed lesions slowly expand also in HR-conferred resistance opening the possibility that the infected cells are eventually engulfed by cell death zone. Taken altogether, we suggest that the HR cell death is separated from the resistance mechanisms which lead to PVY restriction in Ny-1 genetic background. We propose that HR should be regarded as a process where the dynamics of events is crucial for effectiveness of viral arrest albeit the exact mechanism conferring this resistance remains unknown.

A time series transcriptome analysis of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) varieties challenged with Ugandan cassava brown streak virus

A time-course transcriptome analysis of two cassava varieties that are either resistant or susceptible to cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) was conducted using RNASeq, after graft inoculation with Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV). From approximately 1.92 billion short reads, the largest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was obtained in the resistant (Namikonga) variety at 2 days after grafting (dag) (3887 DEGs) and 5 dag (4911 DEGs). At the same time points, several defense response genes (encoding LRR-containing, NBARC-containing, pathogenesis-related, late embryogenesis abundant, selected transcription factors, chaperones, and heat shock proteins) were highly expressed in Namikonga. Also, defense-related GO terms of 'translational elongation', 'translation factor activity', 'ribosomal subunit' and 'phosphorelay signal transduction', were overrepresented in Namikonga at these time points. More reads corresponding to UCBSV sequences were recovered from the susceptible variety (Albert) (733 and 1660 read counts per million (cpm)) at 45 dag and 54 dag compared to Namikonga (10 and 117 cpm respectively). These findings suggest that Namikonga's resistance involves restriction of multiplication of UCBSV within the host. These findings can be used with other sources of evidence to identify candidate genes and biomarkers that would contribute substantially to knowledge-based resistance breeding.

Benzoylsalicylic acid isolated from seed coats of Givotia rottleriformis induces systemic acquired resistance in tobacco and Arabidopsis

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR), a whole plant defense response to a broad spectrum of pathogens, is characterized by a coordinated expression of a large number of defense genes. Plants synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites to protect themselves from the invading microbial pathogens. Several studies have shown that salicylic acid (SA) is a key endogenous component of local and systemic disease resistance in plants. Although SA is a critical signal for SAR, accumulation of endogenous SA levels alone is insufficient to establish SAR. Here, we have identified a new acyl derivative of SA, the benzoylsalicylic acid (BzSA) also known as 2-(benzoyloxy) benzoic acid from the seed coats of Givotia rottleriformis and investigated its role in inducing SAR in tobacco and Arabidopsis. Interestingly, exogenous BzSA treatment induced the expression of NPR1 (Non-expressor of pathogenesis-related gene-1) and pathogenesis related (PR) genes. BzSA enhanced the expression of hypersensitivity related (HSR), mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and WRKY genes in tobacco. Moreover, Arabidopsis NahG plants that were treated with BzSA showed enhanced resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as evidenced by reduced leaf necrosis and TMV-coat protein levels in systemic leaves. We, therefore, conclude that BzSA, hitherto unknown natural plant product, is a new SAR inducer in plants.

The RING Finger E3 Ligase SpRing is a Positive Regulator of Salt Stress Signaling in Salt-Tolerant Wild Tomato Species

Protein ubiquitination in plants plays critical roles in many biological processes, including adaptation to abiotic stresses. Previously, RING finger E3 ligase has been characterized during salt stress response in several plant species, but little is known about its function in tomato. Here, we report that SpRing, a stress-inducible gene, is involved in salt stress signaling in wild tomato species Solanum pimpinellifolium 'PI365967'. In vitro ubiquitination assay revealed that SpRing is an E3 ubiquitin ligase and the RING finger conserved region is required for its activity. SpRing is expressed in all tissues of wild tomato and up-regulated by salt, drought and osmotic stresses, but repressed by low temperature. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion analysis showed that SpRing is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum. Silencing of SpRing through a virus-induced gene silencing approach led to increased sensitivity to salt stress in wild tomato. Overexpression of SpRing in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in enhanced salt tolerance during seed germination and early seedling development. The expression levels of certain key stress-related genes are altered both in SpRing-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants and virus-induced gene silenced tomato seedlings. Taken together, our results indicate that SpRing is involved in salt stress and functions as a positive regulator of salt tolerance.

R-gene-mediated resistance to plant viruses

Most of the reported dominant disease-resistance genes in plants, R genes, encode NB-LRR immune receptors. Plant genomes carry many NB-LRR type R genes that recognize specific pathogens and induce resistance against them. Thus, this immune system in plants is thought to perform similar functions as the adaptive immune system in animals. In this review, we provide an overview of the resistance mechanisms, evolution, and agricultural applications of R genes against plant viruses. We also introduce recent advances in research into the regulatory mechanisms of R gene expression, focusing on regulation by microRNAs and introns. One of the most intriguing phenomena that occur following R gene-mediated recognition of viruses is programmed cell death around the initial infection site, although its significance in the survival strategies of plants remains to be elucidated. We discuss the possible benefits for plants of inducing such programmed cell death based on our empirical observations and some hypotheses from an ecological point of view.

Molecular characterization of rice sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase gene OsSPL1 and functional analysis of its role in disease resistance response

Our results indicate that overexpression of OsSPL1 in transgenic tobacco plants attenuated disease resistance and facilitated programmed cell death. Long-chain base phosphates including sphingosine-1-phosphate have been shown to act as signaling mediators in regulating programmed cell death (PCD) and stress responses in mammals. In the present study, we characterized a rice gene OsSPL1, encoding a putative sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase that is involved in metabolism of sphingosine-1-phosphate. Expression of OsSPL1 was down-regulated in rice plants after treatments with salicylic acid, benzothiadiazole and 1-amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, but was induced by infection with a virulent strain of Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease. Transgenic tobacco lines with overexpression of OsSPL1 were generated and analyzed for the possible role of OsSPL1 in disease resistance response and PCD. The OsSPL1-overexpressing tobacco plants displayed increased susceptibility to infection of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci (Pst), the causal agent of wildfire disease, showing severity of disease symptom and bacterial titers in inoculated leaves, and attenuated pathogen-induced expression of PR genes after infection of Pst as compared to the wild-type and vector-transformed plants. Higher level of cell death, as revealed by dead cell staining, leakage of electrolyte and expression of hypersensitive response indicator genes, was observed in the OsSPL1-overexpressing plants after treatment with fumonisin B1, a fungal toxin that induces PCD in plants. Our results suggest that OsSPL1 has different functions in regulating disease resistance response and PCD in plants.

The importance of cardiolipin synthase for mitochondrial ultrastructure, respiratory function, plant development, and stress responses in Arabidopsis

Cardiolipin (CL) is the signature phospholipid of the mitochondrial inner membrane. In animals and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), CL depletion affects the stability of respiratory supercomplexes and is thus crucial to the energy metabolism of obligate aerobes. In eukaryotes, the last step of CL synthesis is catalyzed by CARDIOLIPIN SYNTHASE (CLS), encoded by a single-copy gene. Here, we characterize a cls mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana, which is devoid of CL. In contrast to yeast cls, where development is little affected, Arabidopsis cls seedlings are slow developing under short-day conditions in vitro and die if they are transferred to long-day (LD) conditions. However, when transferred to soil under LD conditions under low light, cls plants can reach the flowering stage, but they are not fertile. The cls mitochondria display abnormal ultrastructure and reduced content of respiratory complex I/complex III supercomplexes. The marked accumulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle derivatives and amino acids demonstrates mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial and chloroplastic antioxidant transcripts are overexpressed in cls leaves, and cls protoplasts are more sensitive to programmed cell death effectors, UV light, and heat shock. Our results show that CLS is crucial for correct mitochondrial function and development in Arabidopsis under both optimal and stress conditions.

Cloning and characterization of two rice long-chain base kinase genes and their function in disease resistance and cell death

Sphingolipid metabolites such as long-chain base 1-phosphates (LCBPs) have been shown to play an important role in plants; however, little is known about their function in plant disease resistance and programmed cell death (PCD). In the present study, we cloned and identified two rice long-chain base kinase (LCBK) genes (OsLCBK1 and OsLCBK2), which are involved in biosynthesis of LCBPs, and performed functional analysis in transgenic tobacco. Expression of OsLCBK1 and OsLCBK2 was induced in rice seedlings after treatments with defense signaling molecules and after infection by Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of blast disease. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing OsLCBK1 were generated and disease resistance assays indicate that the OsLCBK1-overexpressing plants showed enhanced disease resistance against Pseudmonas syringae pv. tabacci, the causal agent of wildfire disease, and tobacco mosaic virus. Expression levels of some defense-related genes were constitutively up-regulated and further induced after pathogen infection in the OsLCBK1-overexpressing plants. Treatment with fungal toxin fumonisin B1, an effective inducer of PCD in plants, resulted in reduced level of cell death in the OsLCBK1-overexpressing plants, as indicated by cell death staining, leakage of electrolyte and expression of hypersensitive response indicator genes. These data suggest that rice LCBKs, probably through regulation of endogenous LCBP level, play important roles in disease resistance response and PCD in plants.

Arabidopsis metacaspase 2d is a positive mediator of cell death induced during biotic and abiotic stresses

Cysteine proteases such as caspases play important roles in programmed cell death (PCD) of metazoans. Plant metacaspases (MCPs), a family of cysteine proteases structurally related to caspases, have been hypothesized to be ancestors of metazoan caspases, despite their different substrate specificity. Arabidopsis thaliana contains six type II MCP genes (AtMCP2a-f). Whether and how these individual members are involved in controlling PCD in plants remains largely unknown. Here we investigated the function and regulation of AtMCP2d, the predominant and constitutively expressed member of type II MCPs, in stress-inducible PCD. Two AtMCP2d mutants (mcp2d-1 and mcp2d-3) exhibited reduced sensitivity to PCD-inducing mycotoxin fumonisin B1 as well as oxidative stress inducers, whereas AtMCP2d over-expressors were more sensitive to these agents, and exhibited accelerated cell-death progression. We found that AtMCP2d exclusively localizes to the cytosol, and its accumulation and self-processing patterns were age-dependent in leaves. Importantly, active proteolytic processing of AtMCP2d proteins dependent on its catalytic activity was observed in mature leaves during mycotoxin-induced cell death. We also found that mcp2d-1 leaves exhibited reduced cell death in response to Pseudomonas syringae carrying avirulent gene avrRpt2, and that self-processing of AtMCP2d was also detected in wild-type leaves in response to this pathogen. Furthermore, increases in processed AtMCP2d proteins were found to correlate with conditional cell-death induction in two lesion-mimic mutants (cpr22 and ssi4) that exhibit spontaneous cell-death phenotypes. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that AtMCP2d plays a positive regulatory role in biotic and abiotic stress-induced PCD.

Arabidopsis DAL1 and DAL2, two RING finger proteins homologous to Drosophila DIAP1, are involved in regulation of programmed cell death

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a precise, genetically controlled cellular process with important roles in plant growth, development, and response to biotic and abiotic stress. However, the genetic mechanisms that control PCD in plants are unclear. Two Arabidopsis genes, DAL1 and DAL2 (for Drosophila DIAP1 like 1 and 2), encoding RING finger proteins with homology to DIAP1 were identified, and a series of experiments were performed to elucidate their roles in the regulation of PCD and disease resistance. Expression of DAL1 and DAL2 genes was induced in Arabidopsis plants after inoculation with virulent and avirulent strains of Pseudomonas syrinage pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 or after infiltration with fumonisin B1 (FB1). Plants with mutations in the DAL1 and DAL2 genes displayed more severe disease after inoculation with an avirulent strain of Pst DC3000, but they showed similar disease severity as the wild-type plant after inoculation with a virulent strain of Pst DC3000. Significant accumulations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased cell death were observed in the dal1 and dal2 mutant plants after inoculation with the avirulent strain of Pst DC3000. The dal mutant plants underwent extensive PCD upon infiltration of FB1 and displayed higher levels of ROS accumulation, callose deposition, and autofluorescence than the wild-type plants. Our data suggest that DAL1 and DAL2 may act as negative regulators of PCD in Arabidopsis.

Resistance to aphid vectors of virus disease

The majority of plant viruses rely on vectors for their transmission and completion of their life cycle. These vectors comprise a diverse range of life forms including insects, nematodes, and fungi with the most common of these being insects. The geographic range of many of these vectors is continually expanding due to climate change. The viruses that they carry are therefore also expanding their range to exploit novel and naïve plant hosts. There are many forms of naturally occurring vector resistance ranging from broad nonhost resistance to more specific types of inducible resistance. Understanding and exploiting the many and varied forms of natural resistance to virus vectors is therefore extremely important for current and future agricultural production systems. To demonstrate the range and extent of these resistance mechanisms, this chapter will primarily focus on aphids to highlight key developments appropriate to plant-insect-virus interactions.

Systemic acquired resistance is induced by R gene-mediated responses independent of cell death

On infection by pathogens, plants initiate defence responses that are able to curtail infection locally. These responses are mediated either by receptor-like proteins that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns or by the protein products of disease resistance (R) genes. At the same time, primary defence responses often result in the generation of signals that induce what is known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR), such that defence responses are enhanced on secondary pathogen challenge in distal tissues. R protein-mediated SAR induction is normally accompanied by a type of programmed cell death known as the hypersensitive response (HR) and, in some instances, cell death alone has been implicated in the induction of SAR. This has raised the question of whether R protein-mediated signalling per se induces SAR or whether SAR is an indirect result of the induction of HR. Using the Rx gene of potato, which confers resistance to Potato Virus X in the absence of cell death, we have shown that the HR is dispensable for R protein-mediated induction of SAR and that Rx-induced SAR is mediated by the same salicylate-dependent pathway induced by other R proteins.

Bacterial growth restriction during host resistance to Pseudomonas syringae is associated with leaf water loss and localized cessation of vascular activity in Arabidopsis thaliana

The physiological mechanisms by which plants limit the growth of bacterial pathogens during gene-for-gene resistance are poorly understood. We characterized early events in the Arabidopsis thaliana-Pseudomonas syringae pathosystem to identify physiological changes for which the kinetics are consistent with bacterial growth restriction. Using a safranine-O dye solution to detect vascular activity, we demonstrated that A. thaliana Col-0 resistance to P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 cells expressing avrRpm1 involved virtually complete cessation of vascular water movement into the infection site within only 3 h postinoculation (hpi), under the conditions tested. This vascular restriction preceded or was simultaneous with precipitous decreases in photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and leaf transpiration, with the latter two remaining at detectable levels. Microscopic plant cell death was detected as early as 2 hpi. Interestingly, suppression of bacterial growth during AvrRpm1-mediated resistance was eliminated by physically blocking leaf water loss through the stomata without altering plant cell death and was nearly eliminated by incubating plants at high relative humidity. The majority of the population growth benefit from blocking leaf water loss occurred early after inoculation, i.e., between 4 and 8 hpi. Collectively, these results support a model in which A. thaliana suppresses P. syringae growth during gene-for-gene resistance, at least in part, by coupling restricted vascular flow to the infection site with water loss through partially open stomata; that is, the plants effectively starve the invading bacteria for water.

The role of respiratory burst oxidase homologues in elicitor-induced stomatal closure and hypersensitive response in Nicotiana benthamiana

Active oxygen species (AOS) are central components of the defence reactions of plants against pathogens. Plant respiratory burst oxidase homologues (RBOH) of gp91(phox), a plasma membrane protein of the neutrophil nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, play a prominent role in AOS production. The role of two RBOH from Nicotiana benthamiana, NbrbohA and NbrbohB that encode plant NADPH oxidase in the process of elicitor-induced stomatal closure and hypersensitive cell death is described here. NbrbohA was constitutively expressed at a low level, whereas NbrbohB was induced when protein elicitors exist (such as boehmerin, harpin, or INF1). The virus-induced gene-silencing (VIGS) method was used to produce single-silenced (NbrbohA or NbrbohB) and double-silenced (NbrbohA and NbrbohB) N. benthamiana plants. The hypersensitive response (HR) of cell death and pathogenesis-related (PR) gene expression of these gene-silenced N. benthamiana plants, induced by various elicitors, are examined. The HR cell death and transcript accumulation of genes related to the defence response (PR1) were slightly affected, suggesting that RBOH are not essential for elicitor-induced HR and activation of these genes. Interestingly, gene-silenced plants impaired elicitor-induced stomatal closure and elicitor-promoted nitric oxide (NO) production, but not elicitor-induced cytosolic calcium ion accumulation and elicitor-triggered AOS production in guard cells. These results indicate that RBOH from N. benthamiana function in elicitor-induced stomatal closure, but not in elicitor-induced HR.

Hypersensitive response to Aphis gossypii Glover in melon genotypes carrying the Vat gene

Aphis gossypii Glover causes direct and indirect damage to Cucumis melo L. crops. To decrease the harmful effects of this pest, one of the most economically and environmentally acceptable options is to use genetically resistant melon varieties. To date, several sources of resistance carrying the Vat gene are used in melon breeding programmes that aim to prevent A. gossypii colonization and the subsequent aphid virus transmission. The results suggest that the resistance conferred by this gene is associated with a microscopic hypersensitive response specific against A. gossypii. Soon after aphid infestation, phenol synthesis, deposits of callose and lignin in the cell walls, damage to the plasmalemma, and a micro-oxidative burst were detected in genotypes carrying the Vat gene. According to electrical penetration graph experiments, this response seems to occur after aphid stylets puncture the plant cells and not during intercellular stylet penetration. This type of plant tissue reaction was not detected in melon plants infested with Bemisia tabaci Gennadius nor Myzus persicae Sulzer.

The Association of Tobacco mosaic virus with Green Spot of Cured Wrapper Tobacco Leaves

Near-isogenic lines of cigar wrapper tobacco resistant or susceptible to Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were used to evaluate the association of TMV infection with green spot symptoms in cured leaves. TMV infection, as determined by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was detected on susceptible but not resistant plants in field experiments. Green spot severity on cured leaves was greater for susceptible than resistant plants, even when symptoms of TMV were not evident in the field. Some green spots were present on resistant leaves despite the fact that the virus was not detected by ELISA. Resistant and susceptible plants had similar responses to virus infection and similar ELISA detection of TMV when plants were held at continuous temperatures over 28°C in growth chambers. Plant resistance was not compromised in the field in cloth-covered shade tents even when 33.5 of the 96 h immediately following inoculation were above 28°C. Green spot of cured leaves was strongly associated with TMV infection in susceptible plants, even when plants were infected after leaf expansion and mosaic symptoms were not present. Green spot also occurred to a lesser extent and for a limited time in inoculated resistant plants. The development of green spot symptoms on cured leaves may be the result of either systemic infection of TMV-susceptible plants or associated with the systemic resistance response to TMV inoculation of resistant plants.

Plant-virus interactions

A variety of techniques have been used to examine plant viral genomes, the functions of virus-encoded proteins, plant responses induced by virus infection and plant-virus interactions. This overview considers these technologies and how they have been used to identify novel viral and plant proteins or genes involved in disease and resistance responses, as well as defense signaling. These approaches include analysis of spatial and temporal responses by plants to infection, and techniques that allow the expression of viral genes transiently or transgenically in planta, the expression of plant and foreign genes from virus vectors, the silencing of plants genes, imaging of live, infected cells, and the detection of interactions between viral proteins and plant gene products, both in planta and in various in vitro or in vivo systems. These methods and some of the discoveries made using these approaches are discussed.

Hyperaccumulation of arsenic by callus, sporophytes and gametophytes of Pteris vittata cultured in vitro

The callus of Pteris vittata was induced from gametophytes generated from spores in vitro, and grew rapidly with periodical medium change. Arsenic tolerance and accumulation of P. vittata callus were compared with those of Arabidopsis thaliana callus. Cell death was not detected in P. vittata callus even at arsenate concentrations up to 2 mM; however, A. thaliana callus died at low (0.2 mM) arsenate concentrations. Meanwhile, P. vittata callus accumulated almost three times more As than A. thaliana callus when exposed to 0.2 mM arsenate. About 60% of the total As was removed when 7.5 g of P. vittata callus was cultured on 150 ml of half-strength MS liquid medium containing 450 microg As for 2 days. Furthermore, P. vittata callus, sporophytes, and gametophytes all grew well under 1 mM of arsenate and accumulated 1,250; 1,150 and 2,180 mg kg(-1 )dry weight As when grown on 2 mM arsenate for 15 or 30 days. The characteristics of non-differentiated cells, large biomass, ease of culture, good synchronization, and excellent As sequestering, make the callus of P. vittata a new ideal system to study the mechanisms of As hyperaccumulation and phytoremediation in As-contaminated groundwater.

Death don't have no mercy and neither does calcium: Arabidopsis CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE GATED CHANNEL2 and innate immunity

Plant innate immune response to pathogen infection includes an elegant signaling pathway leading to reactive oxygen species generation and resulting hypersensitive response (HR); localized programmed cell death in tissue surrounding the initial infection site limits pathogen spread. A veritable symphony of cytosolic signaling molecules (including Ca(2+), nitric oxide [NO], cyclic nucleotides, and calmodulin) have been suggested as early components of HR signaling. However, specific interactions among these cytosolic secondary messengers and their roles in the signal cascade are still unclear. Here, we report some aspects of how plants translate perception of a pathogen into a signal cascade leading to an innate immune response. We show that Arabidopsis thaliana CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE GATED CHANNEL2 (CNGC2/DND1) conducts Ca(2+) into cells and provide a model linking this Ca(2+) current to downstream NO production. NO is a critical signaling molecule invoking plant innate immune response to pathogens. Plants without functional CNGC2 lack this cell membrane Ca(2+) current and do not display HR; providing the mutant with NO complements this phenotype. The bacterial pathogen-associated molecular pattern elicitor lipopolysaccharide activates a CNGC Ca(2+) current, which may be linked to NO generation due to buildup of cytosolic Ca(2+)/calmodulin.

A method for quantitative analysis of spatially variable physiological processes across leaf surfaces

Many physiological processes are spatially variable across leaf surfaces. While maps of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, gene expression, water transport, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for individual leaves are readily obtained, analytical methods for quantifying spatial heterogeneity and combining information gathered from the same leaf but with different instruments are not widely used. We present a novel application of tools from the field of geographical imaging to the multivariate analysis of physiological images. Procedures for registration and resampling, cluster analysis, and classification provide a general framework for the analysis of spatially resolved physiological data. Two experiments were conducted to illustrate the utility of this approach. Quantitative analysis of images of chlorophyll fluorescence and the production of ROS following simultaneous exposure of soybean leaves to atmospheric O3 and soybean mosaic virus revealed that areas of the leaf where the operating quantum efficiency of PSII was depressed also experienced an accumulation of ROS. This correlation suggests a causal relationship between oxidative stress and inhibition of photosynthesis. Overlaying maps of leaf surface temperature and chlorophyll fluorescence following a photoinhibition treatment indicated that areas with low operating quantum efficiency of PSII also experienced reduced stomatal conductance (high temperature). While each of these experiments explored the covariance of two processes by overlaying independent images gathered with different instruments, the same procedures can be used to analyze the covariance of information from multiple images. The application of tools from geographic image analysis to physiological processes occurring over small spatial scales will help reveal the mechanisms generating spatial variation across leaves.

The role of EDS1 (enhanced disease susceptibility) during singlet oxygen-mediated stress responses of Arabidopsis

Upon a dark/light shift the conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis starts to generate singlet oxygen (1O2) that is restricted to the plastid compartment. Distinct sets of genes are activated that are different from those induced by hydrogen peroxide/superoxide. One of the genes that is rapidly upregulated is EDS1 (enhanced disease susceptibility). The EDS1 protein has been shown to be required for the resistance to biotrophic pathogens and the accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) that enhances the defenses of a plant by inducing the synthesis of pathogen-related (PR) proteins. Because of the similarity of its N-terminal portion to the catalytic site of lipases, EDS1 has also been implicated with the release of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the subsequent formation of various oxylipins. The release of singlet oxygen in the flu mutant triggers a drastic increase in the concentration of free SA and activates the expression of PR1 and PR5 genes. These changes depend on the activity of EDS1 and are suppressed in flu/eds1 double mutants. Soon after the beginning of singlet oxygen production, the synthesis of oxylipins such as jasmonic acid (JA) and 12-oxophytodienoic acid (OPDA) also start and plants stop growing and induce a cell-death response. The inactivation of EDS1 does not affect oxylipin synthesis, growth inhibition and the initiation of cell death, but it does allow plants to recover much faster from singlet oxygen-mediated growth inhibition and it also suppresses the spread of necrotic lesions in leaves. Hence, singlet oxygen activates a complex stress-response program with EDS1 playing a key role in initiating and modulating several steps of it. This program includes not only responses to oxidative stress, but also responses known to be activated during plant-pathogen interactions and wounding.

Arabidopsis Bax inhibitor-1 functions as an attenuator of biotic and abiotic types of cell death

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a common process in eukaryotes during development and in response to pathogens and stress signals. Bax inihibitor-1 (BI-1) is proposed to be a cell death suppressor that is conserved in both animals and plants, but the physiological importance of BI-1 and the impact of its loss of function in plants are still unclear. In this study, we identified and characterized two independent Arabidopsis mutants with a T-DNA insertion in the AtBI1 gene. The phenotype of atbi1-1 and atbi1-2, with a C-terminal missense mutation and a gene knockout, respectively, was indistinguishable from wild-type plants under normal growth conditions. However, these two mutants exhibit accelerated progression of cell death upon infiltration of leaf tissues with a PCD-inducing fungal toxin fumonisin B1 (FB1) and increased sensitivity to heat shock-induced cell death. Under these conditions, expression of AtBI1 mRNA was up-regulated in wild-type leaves prior to the activation of cell death, suggesting that increase of AtBI1 expression is important for basal suppression of cell death progression. Over-expression of AtBI1 transgene in the two homozygous mutant backgrounds rescued the accelerated cell death phenotypes. Together, our results provide direct genetic evidence for a role of BI-1 as an attenuator for cell death progression triggered by both biotic and abiotic types of cell death signals in Arabidopsis.

Temperature and leaf wetness duration affect phenotypic expression of Rlm6-mediated resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans in Brassica napus

Near-isogenic Brassica napus lines carrying/lacking resistance gene Rlm6 were used to investigate the effects of temperature and leaf wetness duration on phenotypic expression of Rlm6-mediated resistance. Leaves were inoculated with ascospores or conidia of Leptosphaeria maculans carrying the effector gene AvrLm6. Incubation period to the onset of lesion development, number of lesions and lesion diameter were assessed. Symptomless growth of L. maculans from leaf lesions to stems was investigated using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing isolate carrying AvrLm6. L. maculans produced large grey lesions on Darmor (lacking Rlm6) at 5-25 degrees C and DarmorMX (carrying Rlm6) at 25 degrees C, but small dark spots and 'green islands' on DarmorMX at 5-20 degrees C. With increasing temperature/wetness duration, numbers of lesions/spots generally increased. GFP-expressing L. maculans grew from leaf lesions down leaf petioles to stems on DarmorMX at 25 degrees C but not at 15 degrees C. We conclude that temperature and leaf wetness duration affect the phenotypic expression of Rlm6-mediated resistance in leaves and subsequent L. maculans spread down petioles to produce stem cankers.

Arabidopsis nitric oxide synthase1 is targeted to mitochondria and protects against oxidative damage and dark-induced senescence

The Arabidopsis thaliana protein nitric oxide synthase1 (NOS1) is needed for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and signaling during defense responses, hormonal signaling, and flowering. The cellular localization of NOS1 was examined because it is predicted to be a mitochondrial protein. NOS1-green fluorescent protein fusions were localized by confocal microscopy to mitochondria in roots. Isolated mitochondria from leaves of wild-type plants supported Arg-stimulated NO synthesis that could be inhibited by NOS inhibitors and quenched by a NO scavenger; this NOS activity is absent in mitochondria isolated from nos1 mutant plants. Because mitochondria are a source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which participate in senescence and programmed cell death, these parameters were examined in the nos1 mutant. Dark-induced senescence of detached leaves and intact plants progressed more rapidly in the mutant compared with the wild type. Hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, oxidized lipid, and oxidized protein levels were all higher in the mutant. These results demonstrate that NOS1 is a mitochondrial NOS that reduces ROS levels, mitigates oxidative damage, and acts as an antisenescence agent.

Basal resistance against bacteria in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves is accompanied by reduced vascular staining and suppressed by multiple Pseudomonas syringae type III secretion system effector proteins

Basal resistance in plants is induced by flagellin and several other common bacterial molecules and is implicated in the immunity of plants to most bacteria and other microbes. However, basal resistance can be suppressed by effector proteins that are injected by the type III secretion system (TTSS) of pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae. This study demonstrates that basal resistance in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana is accompanied by reduced vascular flow into minor veins. Reduced vascular flow was assayed by feeding leaves, via freshly excised petioles, with 1% (weight in volume, w/v) neutral red (NR) and then observing differential staining of minor veins or altered levels of extractable dye in excised leaf samples. The reduced vascular staining was localized to tissues expressing basal resistance and was observable when resistance was induced by either the non-pathogen Pseudomonas fluorescens, a TTSS-deficient mutant of P. syringae pv. tabaci, or flg22 (a flagellin-derived peptide elicitor of basal resistance). Nicotiana benthamiana leaf areas expressing basal resistance no longer elicited the hypersensitive response when challenge inoculated with P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. The reduced vascular staining effect was suppressed by wild-type P. syringae pv. tabaci and P. fluorescens heterologously expressing a P. syringae TTSS and AvrPto1(PtoJL1065). TTSS-proficient P. fluorescens was used to test the ability of several P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 effectors for their ability to suppress the basal resistance-associated reduced vascular staining effect. AvrE(PtoDC3000), HopM1(PtoDC3000) (formerly known as HopPtoM), HopF2(PtoDC3000) (HopPtoF) and HopG1(PtoDC3000) (HopPtoG) suppressed basal resistance by this test, whereas HopC1(PtoDC3000) (HopPtoC) did not. In summary, basal resistance locally alters vascular function and the vascular dye uptake assay should be a useful tool for characterizing effectors that suppress basal resistance.

Concurrent activation of cell death-regulating signaling pathways by singlet oxygen in Arabidopsis thaliana

Upon a dark/light shift the conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis starts to generate singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)), a non-radical reactive oxygen species that is restricted to the plastid compartment. Immediately after the shift, plants stop growing and develop necrotic lesions. We have established a protoplast system, which allows detection and characterization of the death response in flu induced by the release of (1)O(2). Vitamin B6 that quenches (1)O(2) in fungi was able to protect flu protoplasts from cell death. Blocking ethylene production was sufficient to partially inhibit the death reaction. Similarly, flu mutant seedlings expressing transgenic NahG were partially protected from the death provoked by the release of (1)O(2), indicating a requirement for salicylic acid (SA) in this process, whereas in cells depleted of both, ethylene and SA, the extent of cell death was reduced to the wild-type level. The flu mutant was also crossed with the jasmonic acid (JA)-depleted mutant opr3, and with the JA, OPDA and dinor OPDA (dnOPDA)-depleted dde2-2 mutant. Analysis of the resulting double mutants revealed that in contrast to the JA-induced suppression of H(2)O(2)/superoxide-dependent cell death reported earlier, JA promotes singlet oxygen-mediated cell death in flu, whereas other oxylipins such as OPDA and dnOPDA antagonize this death-inducing activity of JA.

Development and assessment of a potato virus X-based expression system with improved biosafety

Over the last decade, plant virus-based vectors have been developed and successfully exploited for high-yield production of heterologous proteins in plants. However, widespread application of recombinant viruses raises concerns about possible risks to the environment. One of the primary safety issues that must be considered is the uncontrolled spread of the genetically engineered virus from experimental plants to susceptible weeds or crops. Using a movement-deficient Potato virus X (PVX)-based transient gene expression vector which harbors the beta-glucuronidase (gus) gene, we established a plant viral expression system that provides containment of the recombinant virus and allows for safe and efficient protein production. By deletion of the viral 25k movement protein gene, systemic spread of the modified virus in non-transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants was successfully inhibited. In transgenic N. benthamiana plants expressing the 25K viral movement protein, this deficiency was complemented, thus resulting in systemic infection with the movement-deficient virus. While no differences in virus spread and accumulation were observed compared to infection caused by wild-type PVX in non-transgenic plants, the movement protein transgenic plants exhibited none of the normal symptoms of viral infection. Several biosafety aspects were investigated including the potential for recombination between the defective virus and the movement protein transgene, as well as complementation effects in non-transgenic plants doubly infected with the defective and the wild-type virus. Furthermore, the applicability of the safety system for the production of heterologous proteins was evaluated with gus as a model gene. With respect to the stability of the gus insert and the expression level of the GUS protein, there were no differences between the novel system developed and the conventional PVX-based expression system.

The type-1 and type-2 ribosome-inactivating proteins from Iris confer transgenic tobacco plants local but not systemic protection against viruses

The antiviral activity of the type-2 ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) IRAb from Iris was analyzed by expressing IRAb in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Samsun NN) plants and challenging the transgenic plants with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Although constitutive expression of IRAb resulted in an aberrant phenotype, the plants were fertile. Transgenic tobacco lines expressing IRAb showed a dose-dependent enhanced resistance against TMV infection but the level of protection was markedly lower than in plants expressing IRIP, the type-1 RIP from Iris that closely resembles the A-chain of IRAb. To verify whether IRIP or IRAb can also confer systemic protection against viruses, transgenic RIP-expressing scions were grafted onto control rootstocks and leaves of the rootstocks challenged with tobacco etch virus (TEV). In spite of the strong local antiviral effect of IRIP and IRAb the RIPs could not provide systemic protection against TEV. Hence our results demonstrate that expression of the type-1 and type-2 RIPs from Iris confers tobacco plants local protection against two unrelated viruses. The antiviral activity of both RIPs was not accompanied by an induction of pathogenesis-related proteins. It is suggested that the observed antiviral activity of both Iris RIPs relies on their RNA N-glycohydrolase activity towards TMV RNA and plant rRNA.

Thermal and chlorophyll-fluorescence imaging distinguish plant-pathogen interactions at an early stage

Different biotic stresses yield specific symptoms, owing to their distinct influence on a plant's physiological status. To monitor early changes in a plant's physiological status upon pathogen attack, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging (Chl-FI) and thermography, which respectively visualize photosynthetic efficiency and transpiration, were carried out in parallel for two fundamentally different plant-pathogen interactions. These non-destructive imaging techniques were able to visualize infections at an early stage, before damage appeared. Under growth-room conditions, a robotized set-up captured time series of visual, thermal and chlorophyll fluorescence images from infected regions on attached leaves. As a first symptom of the plant-virus interaction between resistant tobacco and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), thermal imaging detected a local rise in temperature while Chl-FI monitored a co-localized increase in fluorescence intensity. Chl-FI also revealed pre-symptomatic high-intensity spots for the plant-fungus system sugar beet-Cercospora beticola. Concomitantly, spots of lower temperature were monitored with thermography, in marked contrast with our observations on TMV-infection in tobacco. Knowledge of disease signatures for different plant-pathogen interactions could allow early identification of emerging biotic stresses in crops, facilitating the containment of disease outbreaks. Presymptomatic monitoring clearly opens perspectives for quantitative screening for disease resistance, either on excised leaf pieces or attached leaves.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato cells encounter inhibitory levels of water stress during the hypersensitive response of Arabidopsis thaliana

During plant defense against bacterial pathogens, the hypersensitive response (HR) functions to restrict pathogen growth and spread. The mechanisms driving this growth restriction are poorly understood. We used a water stress-responsive transcriptional fusion to quantify the water potential sensed by individual Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 cells during infection of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. A nonpathogenic DC3000 hrcC mutant defective in type III secretion, as well as the saprophyte Pseudomonas fluorescens A506, sensed water potentials of -0.3 to -0.4 MPa at 48 h postinfiltration (hpi). During pathogenesis, DC3000 sensed lower water potentials (-0.4 to -0.9 MPa), demonstrating that it can modify the intercellular environment, and these water potentials were associated with optimal DC3000 growth in culture. During the HR, DC3000 cells sensed water potentials (-1.6 to -2.2 MPa) that were low enough to prevent cell division in the majority of cells in culture. This water potential decrease occurred within only 4 hpi and was influenced by avirulence gene expression, with avrRpm1 expression associated with lower water potentials than avrRpt2 or avrB expression at 48 hpi. The population sizes of the DC3000 variants tested were significantly correlated with the apoplastic water potential at 48 hpi, with a decrease of -0.9 MPa associated with a 10-fold decrease in cells per gram of leaf. These results suggest that the apoplastic water potential is a determinant of endophytic bacterial population size, and water stress, resulting from high osmolarity or tissue desiccation, is at least one factor restricting bacterial growth during the HR.

Activation of multiple antiviral defence mechanisms by salicylic acid

SUMMARY The plant signal molecule salicylic acid (SA) can induce resistance to a wide range of pathogen types. In the case of viruses, SA can stimulate the inhibition of all three main stages in virus infection: replication, cell-to-cell movement and long-distance movement. Induction of resistance by SA appears to depend, in part, on downstream signalling via the mitochondrion. However, evidence has recently emerged that SA may stimulate a separate downstream pathway, leading to the induction of an additional mechanism of resistance based on RNA interference. In this review our aims are to document these recent advances and to suggest possible future avenues of research on SA-induced resistance to viruses.

Novel N gene-associated, temperature-independent resistance to the movement of tobacco mosaic virus vectors neutralized by a cucumber mosaic virus RNA1 transgene

The N gene conditions for resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) but only below 28 degrees C. However, a TMV-based vector expressing green fluorescent protein (TMV-GFP) showed only limited movement at 33 degrees C in tobacco plants harboring the N gene and other genes cointrogressed from Nicotiana glutinosa. TMV-GFP moved efficiently in tobacco plants that either lacked these genes or that contained the N gene but were transgenic for RNA1 of Cucumber mosaic virus. These findings identified novel temperature-independent resistance to the movement of TMV-GFP which could be neutralized by a different viral transgene. Using the N gene and nahG gene-transgenic tobacco, we show that this novel resistance is manifested specifically by the N gene itself and operates via a pathway independent of salicylic acid.

Effects of replacing the movement protein gene of Tobacco mosaic virus by that of Tomato mosaic virus

The broad bean strain of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV-B) infects Nicotiana tabacum White Burley systemically whereas the tomato strain of T. mosaic virus (ToMV-S1) induces necrotic local lesions and is restricted to inoculated leaves. To examine the possible role of the viral movement protein (MP) in these symptom differences, a chimaeric virus (T/OMP) was produced in which the TMV-B MP gene was replaced by the ToMV-S1 MP gene. T/OMP induced the same symptoms as TMV-B in N. tabacum White Burley. However, in N. tabacum Samsun NN and other plants containing the N resistance gene, T/OMP caused necrotic lesions that were smaller than those produced by TMV-B but similar in size to those of ToMV-S1. We conclude that ToMV MP gene can substitute functionally for the TMV-B MP gene, and that the MP gene influences the size of necrotic local lesions on N-containing hosts.

Salicylic acid has cell-specific effects on tobacco mosaic virus replication and cell-to-cell movement

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) were used to probe the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on the cell biology of viral infection. Treatment of tobacco with SA restricted TMV.GFP to single-epidermal cell infection sites for at least 6 d post inoculation but did not affect infection sites of Cucumber mosaic virus expressing GFP. Microinjection experiments, using size-specific dextrans, showed that SA cannot inhibit TMV movement by decreasing the plasmodesmatal size exclusion limit. In SA-treated transgenic plants expressing TMV movement protein, TMV.GFP infection sites were larger, but they still consisted overwhelmingly of epidermal cells. TMV replication was strongly inhibited in mesophyll protoplasts isolated from SA-treated nontransgenic tobacco plants. Therefore, it appears that SA has distinct cell type-specific effects on virus replication and movement in the mesophyll and epidermal cell layers, respectively. Thus, SA can have fundamentally different effects on the same pathogen in different cell types.

Chemically induced virus resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana is independent of pathogenesis-related protein expression and the NPR1 gene

Salicylic acid (SA) treatment triggers inhibition of replication or movement of several positive-sense RNA plant viruses in tobacco. This resistance can also be stimulated by nonlethal concentrations of cyanide and antimycin A (AA) without triggering induction of pathogenesis-related PR-1 protein genes. In two ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana (Columbia and Nössen), SA-induced resistance to a tobamovirus, Turnip vein clearing virus (TVCV), was also induced by nonlethal concentrations of cyanide and AA without concomitant induction of PR-1 gene expression. Furthermore, chemically induced resistance to TVCV, as well as the induction of the plant mitochondrial alternative oxidase (a potential target for the chemicals), was independent of NPR1, a gene that plays a key role downstream of SA in the induction of PR proteins. The chemically induced resistance to TVCV appeared to be due to inhibition of replication at the site of inoculation. Taken together, these results show that in Arabidopsis, as in tobacco, resistance to viruses can be induced via a distinct branch of the defensive signal transduction pathway. This suggests that the existence of this virus-specific branch may be widespread among plants.

Tobamovirus replicase coding region is involved in cell-to-cell movement

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) encodes a 30-kDa movement protein (MP) which enables viral movement from cell to cell. It is, however, unclear whether the 126- and 183-kDa replicase proteins are involved in the cell-to-cell movement of TMV. In the course of our studies into TMV-R, a strain with a host range different from that of TMV-U1, we have obtained an interesting chimeric virus, UR-hel. The amino acid sequence differences between UR-hel and TMV-U1 are located only in the helicase-like domain of the replicase. Interestingly, UR-hel has a defect in its cell-to-cell movement. The replication of UR-hel showed a level of replication of the genome, synthesis, and accumulation of MP similar to that observed in TMV-U1-inoculated protoplasts. Such observations support the hypothesis that the replicase coding region may in some fashion be involved in cell-to-cell movement of TMV.

Seeing is believing: imaging techniques to monitor plant health

Historically, early stress-induced changes in plants have been mainly detected after destructive sampling followed by biochemical and molecular determinations. Imaging techniques that allow immediate detection of stress-situations, before visual symptoms appear and adverse effects become established, are emerging as promising tools for crop yield management. Such monitoring approaches can also be applied to screen plant populations for mutants with increased stress tolerance. At the laboratory scale, different imaging methods can be tested and one or a combination best suited for crop surveillance chosen. The system of choice can be applied under controlled laboratory conditions to guide selective sampling for the molecular characterisation of rapid stress-induced changes. Such an approach permits to isolate presymptomatically induced genes, or to obtain a panoramic view of early gene expression using gene-arrays when plants undergo physiological changes undetected by the human eye. Using this knowledge, plants can be engineered to be more stress resistant, and tested for field performance by the same methodologies. In ongoing efforts of genome characterisation, genes of unknown function are revealed at an ever-accelerating pace. By monitoring changes in phenotypic characteristics of transgenic plants expressing those genes, imaging techniques could help to identify their function.

Dynamic changes in the frequency and architecture of plasmodesmata during the sink-source transition in tobacco leaves

The sink-source transition in tobacco leaves was studied noninvasively using transgenic plants expressing the green-fluorescent protein (GFP) under control of the Arabidopsis thaliana SUC2 promoter, and also by imaging transgenic plants that constitutively expressed a tobacco mosaic virus movement protein (MP) fused to GFP (MP-GFP). The sink-source transition was measured on intact leaves and progressed basipetally at rates of up to 600 microns/h. The transition was most rapid on the largest sink leaves. However, leaf size was a poor indicator of the current position of the sink-source transition. A quantitative study of plasmodesmatal frequencies revealed the loss of enormous numbers of simple plasmodemata during the sink-source transition. In contrast, branched plasmodesmata increased in frequency during the sink-source transition, particularly between periclinal cell walls of the spongy mesophyll. The progression of plasmodesmal branching, as mapped by the labelling of plasmodesmata with MP-GFP fusion, occurred asynchronously in different cell layers, commencing in trichomes and appearing lastly in periclinal cell walls of the palisade layer. It appears that dividing cells retain simple plasmodesmata for longer periods than nondividing cells. The rapid conversion of simple to branched plasmodesmata is discussed in relation to the capacity for macromolecular trafficking in developing leaf tissues.