BackgroundTreatment of plants with HrpNEa, a protein of harpin group produced by Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria, induces plant resistance to insect herbivores, including the green peach aphid Myzus persicae, a generalist phloem-feeding insect. Under attacks by phloem-feeding insects, plants defend themselves using the phloem-based defense mechanism, which is supposed to involve the phloem protein 2 (PP2), one of the most abundant proteins in the phloem sap. The purpose of this study was to obtain genetic evidence for the function of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) PP2-encoding gene AtPP2-A1 in resistance to M. persicae when the plant was treated with HrpNEa and after the plant was transformed with AtPP2-A1.ResultsThe electrical penetration graph technique was used to visualize the phloem-feeding activities of apterous agamic M. persicae females on leaves of Arabidopsis plants treated with HrpNEa and an inactive protein control, respectively. A repression of phloem feeding was induced by HrpNEa in wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis but not in atpp2-a1/E/142, the plant mutant that had a defect in the AtPP2-A1 gene, the most HrpNEa-responsive of 30 AtPP2 genes. In WT rather than atpp2-a1/E/142, the deterrent effect of HrpNEa treatment on the phloem-feeding activity accompanied an enhancement of AtPP2-A1 expression. In PP2OETAt (AtPP2-A1-overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana) plants, abundant amounts of the AtPP2-A1 gene transcript were detected in different organs, including leaves, stems, calyces, and petals. All these organs had a deterrent effect on the phloem-feeding activity compared with the same organs of the transgenic control plant. When a large-scale aphid population was monitored for 24 hours, there was a significant decrease in the number of aphids that colonized leaves of HrpNEa-treated WT and PP2OETAt plants, respectively, compared with control plants.ConclusionsThe repression in phloem-feeding activities of M. persicae as a result of AtPP2-A1 overexpression, and as a deterrent effect of HrpNEa treatment in WT Arabidopsis rather than the atpp2-a1/E/142 mutant suggest that AtPP2-A1 plays a role in plant resistance to the insect, particularly at the phloem-feeding stage. The accompanied change of aphid population in leaf colonies suggests that the function of AtPP2-A1 is related to colonization of the plant.

AtMYB44 is a transcription factor that functions in association with the ethylene-signaling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. The pathway depends on ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2), an essential component of ethylene signaling, to regulate defense responses in the plant following treatment with HrpN(Ea), a harpin protein from a bacterial plant pathogen. Here, we show that AtMYB44 regulates induced expression of the EIN2 gene in HrpN(Ea)-treated Arabidopsis plants. A HrpN(Ea) and ethylene-responsive fragment of the AtMYB44 promoter is sufficient to support coordinate expression of AtMYB44 and EIN2 in specific transgenic Arabidopsis. In the plant, the AtMYB44 protein localizes to nuclei and binds the EIN2 promoter; the HrpN(Ea) treatment promotes AtMYB44 production, binding activity, and transcription of AtMYB44 and EIN2. AtMYB44 overexpression results in increased production of the AtMYB44 protein and the occurrence of AtMYB44-EIN2 interaction under all genetic backgrounds of wild-type Arabidopsis and the etr1-1, ein2-1, ein3-1, and ein5-1 mutants, which have defects in the ethylene receptor ETR1 and the signal regulators EIN2, EIN3, and EIN5. However, AtMYB44 overexpression leads to enhanced EIN2 expression only under backgrounds of wild type, ein3-1, and ein5-1 but not etr1-1 and ein2-1, suggesting that ethylene perception is necessary to the regulation of EIN2 transcription by AtMYB44.

The harpin protein HrpN Ea induces Arabidopsis resistance to the green peach aphid by activating the ethylene signalling pathway and by recruiting EIN2, an essential regulator of ethylene signalling, for a defence response in the plant. We investigated 37 ethylene-inducible Arabidopsis transcription factor genes for their effects on the activation of ethylene signalling and insect defence. Twenty-eight of the 37 genes responded to both ethylene and HrpN Ea, and showed either increased or inhibited transcription, while 18 genes showed increased transcription not only by ethylene but also by HrpN Ea. In response to HrpN Ea, transcription levels of 22 genes increased, with AtMYB44 being the most inducible, six genes had decreased transcript levels, and nine remained unchanged. When Arabidopsis mutants previously generated by mutagenicity at the 37 genes were surveyed, 24 mutants were similar to the wild type plant while four mutants were more resistant and nine mutants were more susceptible than wild type to aphid infestation. Aphid-susceptible mutants showed a greater susceptibility for atmyb15, atmyb38 and atmyb44, which were generated previously by T-DNA insertion into the exon region of AtMYB15 and the promoter regions of AtMYB38 and AtMYB44. The atmyb44 mutant was the most susceptible to aphid infestation and most compromised in induced resistance. Resistance accompanied the expression of PDF1.2, an ethylene signalling marker gene that requires EIN2 for transcription in wild type but not in atmyb15, atmyb38, and atmyb44, suggesting a disruption of ethylene signalling in the mutants. However, only atmyb44 incurred an abrogation in induced EIN2 expression, suggesting a close relationship between AtMYB44 and EIN2.

Pollen tubes deliver sperms to the ovule for fertilization via tip growth. The rapid turnover of F-actin in pollen tube tips plays an important role in this process. In this study, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis  thaliana RIC1, a member of the ROP-interactive CRIB motif-containing protein family, regulates pollen tube growth via its F-actin severing activity. Knockout of RIC1 enhanced pollen tube elongation, while overexpression of RIC1 dramatically reduced tube growth. Pharmacological analysis indicated that RIC1 affected F-actin dynamics in pollen tubes. In vitro biochemical assays revealed that RIC1 directly bound and severed F-actin in the presence of Ca2+ in addition to interfering with F-actin turnover by capping F-actin at the barbed ends. In vivo, RIC1 localized primarily to the apical plasma membrane (PM) of pollen tubes. The level of RIC1 at the apical PM oscillated during pollen tube growth. The frequency of F-actin severing at the apex was notably decreased in ric1-1 pollen tubes but was increased in pollen tubes overexpressing RIC1. We propose that RIC1 regulates F-actin dynamics at the apical PM as well as the cytosol by severing F-actin and capping the barbed ends in the cytoplasm, establishing a novel mechanism that underlies the regulation of pollen tube growth.

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