The jasmonate family of phytohormones plays central roles in plant development and stress acclimation. However, the architecture of their signaling circuits remains largely unknown. Here we describe a jasmonate family binding protein, cyclophilin 20-3 (CYP20-3), which regulates stress-responsive cellular redox homeostasis. (+)-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) binding promotes CYP20-3 to form a complex with serine acetyltransferase 1, which triggers the formation of a hetero-oligomeric cysteine synthase complex with O -acetylserine(thiol)lyase B in chloroplasts. The cysteine synthase complex formation then activates sulfur assimilation that leads to increased levels of thiol metabolites and the buildup of cellular reduction potential. The enhanced redox capacity in turn coordinates the expression of a subset of OPDA-responsive genes. Thus, we conclude that CYP20-3 is a key effector protein that links OPDA signaling to amino acid biosynthesis and cellular redox homeostasis in stress responses.

SummaryThe Arabidopsis mutants fus3 and abi3 show pleiotropic effects during embryogenesis including reduced levels of transcripts encoding embryo-speci®c seed proteins. To investigate the interaction between the B3-domain-containing transcription factors FUS3 and ABI3 with the RY cis-motif, conserved in many seed-speci®c promoters, a promoter analysis as well as band-shift experiments were performed. The analysis of promoter mutants revealed the structural requirements for the function of the RY ciselement. It is shown that both the nucleotide sequence and the alternation of purin and pyrimidin nucleotides (RY character) are essential for the activity of the motif. Further, it was shown that FUS3 and ABI3 can act independently of each other in controlling promoter activity and that the RY cis-motif is a target for both transcription factors. For FUS3, which is so far the smallest known member of the B3-domain family, a physical interaction with the RY motif was established. The functional and biochemical data demonstrate that the regulators FUS3 and ABI3 are essential components of a regulatory network acting in concert through the RY-promoter element to control gene expression during late embryogenesis and seed development.

The jasmonate family of phytohormones, as represented by 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA), dinor-phytodienoic acid (dn-OPDA), and jasmonic acid in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), has been implicated in a vast array of different developmental processes and stress responses. Recent reports indicate that OPDA and dn-OPDA occur not only as free acids in Arabidopsis, but also as esters with complex lipids, so-called arabidopsides. Recently, we showed that recognition of the two bacterial effector proteins AvrRpm1 and AvrRpt2 induced high levels of a molecule consisting of two OPDAs and one dn-OPDA esterified to a monogalactosyl diacylglycerol moiety, named arabidopside E. In this study, we demonstrate that the synthesis of arabidopsides is mainly independent of the prokaryotic lipid biosynthesis pathway in the chloroplast, and, in addition to what previously has been reported, arabidopside E as well as an all-OPDA analog, arabidopside G, described here accumulated during the hypersensitive response and in response to wounding. We also show that different signaling pathways lead to the formation of arabidopsides during the hypersensitive response and the wounding response, respectively. However, the formation of arabidopsides during both responses is dependent on an intact jasmonate signaling pathway. Additionally, we report inhibition of growth of the fungal necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea and in planta release of free jasmonates in a time frame that overlaps with the observed reduction of arabidopside levels. Thus, arabidopsides may have a dual function: as antipathogenic substances and as storage compounds that allow the slow release of free jasmonates.

SummaryBacterial pathogens deliver type III effector proteins into plant cells during infection. On susceptible host plants, type III effectors contribute to virulence, but on resistant hosts they betray the pathogen to the plant's immune system and are functionally termed avirulence (Avr) proteins. Recognition induces a complex suite of cellular and molecular events comprising the plant's inducible defence response. As recognition of type III effector proteins occurs inside host cells, defence responses can be elicited by in planta expression of bacterial type III effectors. We demonstrate that recognition of either of two type III effectors, AvrRpm1 or AvrRpt2 from Pseudomonas syringae, induced biphasic accumulation of phosphatidic acid (PA). The first wave of PA accumulation correlated with disappearance of monophosphatidylinosotol (PIP) and is thus tentatively attributed to activation of a PIP specific phospholipase C (PLC) in concert with diacylglycerol kinase (DAGK) activity. Subsequent activation of phospholipase D (PLD) produced large amounts of PA from structural phospholipids. This later wave of PA accumulation was several orders of magnitude higher than the PLCdependent first wave. Inhibition of phospholipases blocked the response, and feeding PA directly to leaf tissue caused cell death and defence-gene activation. Inhibitor studies ordered these events relative to other known signalling events during the plant defence response. Influx of extracellular Ca 2þ occurred downstream of PIPdegradation, but upstream of PLD activation. Production of reactive oxygen species occurred downstream of the phospholipases. The data presented indicate that PA is a positive regulator of RPM1-or RPS2-mediated disease resistance signalling, and that the biphasic PA production may be a conserved feature of signalling induced by the coiled-coil nucleotide binding domain leucine-rich repeat class of resistance proteins.

SummaryThe transcriptional activator ABI3 is a key regulator of gene expression during embryo maturation in crucifers. In monocots, the related VP1 protein regulates the Em promoter synergistically with abscisic acid (ABA). We identi®ed cis-elements in the Brassica napus napin napA promoter mediating regulation by ABI3 and ABA, by analyzing substitution mutation constructs of napA in transgenic tobacco plantlets ectopically expressing ABI3. In transient analysis using particle bombardment of tobacco leaf sections, a tetramer of the distB ABRE (abscisic acid-responsive element) mediated transactivation by ABI3 and ABI3-dependent response to ABA, whereas a tetramer of the composite RY/G complex, containing RY repeats and a G-box, mediated only ABA-independent transactivation by ABI3. Deletion of the conserved B2 and B3 domains of ABI3 abolished transactivation of napA by ABI3. The two domains of ABI3 interact with different cis-elements: B2 is necessary for ABA-independent and ABA-dependent activations through the distB ABRE, whereas B3 interacts with the RY/G complex. Thus B2 mediates the interaction of ABI3 with the protein complex at the ABRE. The regulation of napA by ABI3 differs from Em regulation by VP1, in that the B3 domain of ABI3 is essential for the ABA-dependent regulation of napA.

Plants have evolved a complex array of defensive responses against pathogenic microorganisms. Recognition of microbes initiates signaling cascades that activate plant defenses. The membrane lipid phosphatidic acid, produced by phospholipase D (PLD), has been shown to take part in both abiotic and biotic stress signaling. In this study, the involvement of PLD in the interaction between Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and the barley powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh) was investigated. This nonadapted pathogen is normally resisted by a cell wall-based defense, which stops the fungal hyphae from penetrating the epidermal cell wall. Chemical inhibition of phosphatidic acid production by PLD increased the penetration rate of Bgh spores on wild-type leaves. The analysis of transfer DNA knockout lines for all Arabidopsis PLD genes revealed that PLDd is involved in penetration resistance against Bgh, and chemical inhibition of PLDs in plants mutated in PLDd indicated that this isoform alone is involved in Bgh resistance. In addition, we confirmed the involvement of PLDd in penetration resistance against another nonadapted pea powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe pisi. A green fluorescent protein fusion of PLDd localized to the plasma membrane at the Bgh attack site, where it surrounded the cell wall reinforcement. Furthermore, in the pldd mutant, transcriptional up-regulation of early microbe-associated molecular pattern response genes was delayed after chitin stimulation.In conclusion, we propose that PLD is involved in defense signaling in nonhost resistance against powdery mildew fungi and put PLDd forward as the main isoform participating in this process.

Plants recognize many pathogens through the action of a diverse family of proteins called disease resistance (R) genes. The Arabidopsis R gene RPM1 encodes resistance to specific Pseudomonas syringae strains. We describe an RPM1-interacting protein that is an ortholog of TIP49a, previously shown to interact with the TATA binding protein (TBP) complex and to modulate c-myc- and beta-catenin-mediated signaling in animals. Reduction of Arabidopsis TIP49a (AtTIP49a) mRNA levels results in measurable increases of two R-dependent responses without constitutively activating defense responses, suggesting that AtTIP49a can act as a negative regulator of at least some R functions. Further, AtTIP49a is essential for both sporophyte and female gametophyte viability. Thus, regulators of R function overlap with essential modulators of plant development.

The promoter region (-309 to +44) of the Brassica napus storage protein gene napA was studied in transgenic tobacco by successive 5' as well as internal deletions fused to the reporter gene GUS (beta-glucuronidase). The expression in the two main tissues of the seed, the endosperm and the embryo, was shown to be differentially regulated. This tissue-specific regulation within the seed was found to affect the developmental expression during seed development. The region between -309 to -152, which has a large effect on quantitative expression, was shown to harbour four elements regulating embryo and one regulating endosperm expression. This region also displayed enhancer activity. Deletion of eight bp from position -152 to position -144 totally abolished the activity of the napA promoter. This deletion disrupted a cis element with similarity to an ABA-responsive element (ABRE) overlapping with an E-box, demonstrating its crucial importance for quantitative expression. An internal deletion of the region -133 to -120, resulted in increased activity in both leaves and endosperm and a decreased activity in the embryo. Within this region, a cis element similar to the (CA)n element, found in other storage protein promoters, was identified. This suggest that the (CA)n element is important for conferring seed specificity by serving both as an activator and a repressor element.