). † These authors contributed equally to this study. SummaryPlant WRKY transcription factors are key regulatory components of plant responses to microbial infection. In addition to regulating the expression of defense-related genes, WRKY transcription factors have also been shown to regulate cross-talk between jasmonate-and salicylate-regulated disease response pathways. The two pathways mediate resistance against different types of microbial pathogens, and there are numerous reports of antagonistic interactions between them. Here we show that mutations of the Arabidopsis WRKY33 gene encoding a WRKY transcription factor cause enhanced susceptibility to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola concomitant with reduced expression of the jasmonateregulated plant defensin PDF1.2 gene. Ectopic over-expression of WRKY33, on the other hand, increases resistance to the two necrotrophic fungal pathogens. The wrky33 mutants do not show altered responses to a virulent strain of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, although the ectopic expression of WRKY33 results in enhanced susceptibility to this pathogen. The susceptibility of WRKY33-over-expressing plants to P. syringae is associated with reduced expression of the salicylate-regulated PR-1 gene. The WRKY33 transcript is induced in response to pathogen infection, or treatment with salicylate or the paraquat herbicide that generates activated oxygen species in exposed cells. WRKY33 is localized to the nucleus of plant cells and recognizes DNA molecules containing the TTGACC W-box sequence. Together, these results indicate that pathogen-induced WRKY33 is an important transcription factor that regulates the antagonistic relationship between defense pathways mediating responses to P. syringae and necrotrophic pathogens.

Plant sensing of invading pathogens triggers massive metabolic reprogramming, including the induction of secondary antimicrobial compounds known as phytoalexins. We recently reported that MPK3 and MPK6, two pathogen-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinases, play essential roles in the induction of camalexin, the major phytoalexin in Arabidopsis thaliana. In search of the transcription factors downstream of MPK3/MPK6, we found that WRKY33 is required for MPK3/MPK6-induced camalexin biosynthesis. In wrky33 mutants, both gain-of-function MPK3/MPK6- and pathogen-induced camalexin production are compromised, which is associated with the loss of camalexin biosynthetic gene activation. WRKY33 is a pathogen-inducible transcription factor, whose expression is regulated by the MPK3/MPK6 cascade. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays reveal that WRKY33 binds to its own promoter in vivo, suggesting a potential positive feedback regulatory loop. Furthermore, WRKY33 is a substrate of MPK3/MPK6. Mutation of MPK3/MPK6 phosphorylation sites in WRKY33 compromises its ability to complement the camalexin induction in the wrky33 mutant. Using a phospho-protein mobility shift assay, we demonstrate that WRKY33 is phosphorylated by MPK3/MPK6 in vivo in response to Botrytis cinerea infection. Based on these data, we conclude that WRKY33 functions downstream of MPK3/MPK6 in reprogramming the expression of camalexin biosynthetic genes, which drives the metabolic flow to camalexin production in Arabidopsis challenged by pathogens.

Auxin is an essential hormone, but its biosynthetic routes in plants have not been fully defined. In this paper, we show that the TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS (TAA) family of amino transferases converts tryptophan to indole-3-pyruvate (IPA) and that the YUCCA (YUC) family of flavin monooxygenases participates in converting IPA to indole-3-acetic acid, the main auxin in plants. Both the YUCs and the TAAs have been shown to play essential roles in auxin biosynthesis, but it has been suggested that they participate in two independent pathways. Here, we show that all of the taa mutant phenotypes, including defects in shade avoidance, root resistance to ethylene and N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA), are phenocopied by inactivating YUC genes. On the other hand, we show that the taa mutants in several known auxin mutant backgrounds, including pid and npy1, mimic all of the well-characterized developmental defects caused by combining yuc mutants with the auxin mutants. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of YUC1 partially suppresses the shade avoidance defects of taa1 and the sterile phenotypes of the weak but not the strong taa mutants. In addition, we discovered that the auxin overproduction phenotypes of YUC overexpression lines are dependent on active TAA genes. Our genetic data show that YUC and TAA work in the same pathway and that YUC is downstream of TAA. The yuc mutants accumulate IPA, and the taa mutants are partially IPA-deficient, indicating that TAAs are responsible for converting tryptophan to IPA, whereas YUCs play an important role in converting IPA to indole-3-acetic acid.

Salicylic acid (SA) is an important signal molecule in plants.Two pathways of SA biosynthesis have been proposed in plants. Biochemical studies using isotope feeding have suggested that plants synthesize SA from cinnamate produced by the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL). Silencing of PAL genes in tobacco or chemical inhibition of PAL activity in Arabidopsis, cucumber and potato reduces pathogen-induced SA accumulation. Genetic studies, on the other hand, indicate that the bulk of SA is produced from isochorismate. In bacteria, SA is synthesized from chorismate through two reactions catalyzed by isochorismate synthase (ICS) and isochorismate pyruvate lyase (IPL). Arabidopsis contains two ICS genes but has no gene encoding proteins similar to the bacterial IPL. Thus, how SA is synthesized in plants is not fully elucidated. Two recently identified Arabidopsis genes, PBS3 and EPS1, are important for pathogen-induced SA accumulation. PBS3 encodes a member of the acyl-adenylate/thioester-forming enzyme family and EPS1 encodes a member of the BAHD acyltransferase superfamily. PBS3 and EPS1 may be directly involved in the synthesis of an important precursor or regulatory molecule for SA biosynthesis. The pathways and regulation of SA biosynthesis in plants may be more complicated than previously thought.

SUMMARYAutophagy is a pathway for degradation of cytoplasmic components. In plants, autophagy plays an important role in nutrient recycling during nitrogen or carbon starvation, and in responses to abiotic stress. Autophagy also regulates age-and immunity-related programmed cell death, which is important in plant defense against biotrophic pathogens. Here we show that autophagy plays a critical role in plant resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. ATG18a, a critical autophagy protein in Arabidopsis, interacts with WRKY33, a transcription factor that is required for resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. Expression of autophagy genes and formation of autophagosomes are induced in Arabidopsis by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Induction of ATG18a and autophagy by B. cinerea was compromised in the wrky33 mutant, which is highly susceptible to necrotrophic pathogens. Arabidopsis mutants defective in autophagy exhibit enhanced susceptibility to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens B. cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola based on increased pathogen growth in the mutants. The hypersusceptibility of the autophagy mutants was associated with reduced expression of the jasmonate-regulated PFD1.2 gene, accelerated development of senescence-like chlorotic symptoms, and increased protein degradation in infected plant tissues. These results strongly suggest that autophagy cooperates with jasmonate-and WRKY33-mediated signaling pathways in the regulation of plant defense responses to necrotrophic pathogens.

Genetic studies in Arabidopsis implicate an α/β-hydrolase, KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) as a receptor for karrikins, germination-promoting butenolide small molecules found in the smoke of burned plants. However, direct biochemical evidence for the interaction between KAI2 and karrikin and for the mechanism of downstream signaling by a KAI2-karrikin complex remain elusive. We report crystallographic analyses and ligand-binding experiments for KAI2 recognition of karrikins. The karrikin-1 (KAR 1 ) ligand sits in the opening to the active site abutting a helical domain insert but distal from the canonical catalytic triad (Ser95-His246-Asp217) of α/β-hydrolases, consistent with the lack of detectable hydrolytic activity by purified KAI2. The closest approach of KAR 1 to Ser95-His246-Asp217 is 3.8 Å from His246. Six aromatic side chains, including His246, encapsulate KAR 1 through geometrically defined aromatic-aromatic interactions. KAR 1 binding induces a conformational change in KAI2 at the active site entrance. A crevice of hydrophobic residues linking the polar edge of KAR 1 and the helical domain insert suggests that KAI2-KAR 1 creates a contiguous interface for binding signaling partners in a liganddependent manner.plant signaling | wildfires | seed dormancy W ildfires recycle plant environments by releasing nutrients stored in plant tissues and often stimulate the germination of quiescent seeds (1). Germination-stimulating compounds, generated in the smoke of burning plants, include a seed dormancybreaking compound 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one, a butenolide named karrikinolide-1 or karrikin-1 (KAR 1 ) (2). Previous reports reveal KAR 1 structure-activity relationships (SARs) and features of the physiological mode of action (3-7). Karrikinsinsensitive (kai) mutants in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana identify some of the genetic components underlying karrikins' perception and signaling (8,9). Seeds of kai2 mutants are insensitive to KAR 1 -induced germination, suggesting that the KAI2 gene product is essential for KAR 1 perception and/or signal transduction (8, 9). KAI2, also known as HYPOSENSITIVE TO LIGHT (HTL) (10), is a member of the α/β-hydrolase superfamily commonly containing a catalytic triad, Ser(Cys)-His-Asp (11). Notably, several other members of the α/β-hydrolase superfamily sense, bind, and/or catalytically modify phytohormones. For example, the α/β-hydrolase SALICYLIC ACID-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (SABP2) converts methyl salicylate to salicylic acid through its esterase activity. The product of the reaction, salicylic acid, retains relatively high binding affinity to SABP2, which inhibits SABP2 catalytic activity and fine tunes salicylic acid levels (12). Another α/β-hydrolase family member GIBBERELLIN-INSENSITIVE DWARF 1 (GID1) lacks the highly conserved catalytic triad, but serves as the receptor of gibberellins (13,14). These previous studies have led to speculation that the KAI2 protein might be the receptor of karrikins (8,9). This hypothesis is supported by the recent discovery that ano...

BackgroundPlant WRKY DNA-binding transcription factors are involved in plant responses to biotic and abiotic responses. It has been previously shown that Arabidopsis WRKY3 and WRKY4, which encode two structurally similar WRKY transcription factors, are induced by pathogen infection and salicylic acid (SA). However, the role of the two WRKY transcription factors in plant disease resistance has not been directly analyzed.ResultsBoth WRKY3 and WRKY4 are nuclear-localized and specifically recognize the TTGACC W-box sequences in vitro. Expression of WRKY3 and WRKY4 was induced rapidly by stress conditions generated by liquid infiltration or spraying. Stress-induced expression of WRKY4 was further elevated by pathogen infection and SA treatment. To determine directly their role in plant disease resistance, we have isolated T-DNA insertion mutants and generated transgenic overexpression lines for WRKY3 and WRKY4. Both the loss-of-function mutants and transgenic overexpression lines were examined for responses to the biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. The wrky3 and wrky4 single and double mutants exhibited more severe disease symptoms and support higher fungal growth than wild-type plants after Botrytis infection. Although disruption of WRKY3 and WRKY4 did not have a major effect on plant response to P. syringae, overexpression of WRKY4 greatly enhanced plant susceptibility to the bacterial pathogen and suppressed pathogen-induced PR1 gene expression.ConclusionThe nuclear localization and sequence-specific DNA-binding activity support that WRKY3 and WRKY4 function as transcription factors. Functional analysis based on T-DNA insertion mutants and transgenic overexpression lines indicates that WRKY3 and WRKY4 have a positive role in plant resistance to necrotrophic pathogens and WRKY4 has a negative effect on plant resistance to biotrophic pathogens.

A hallmark of plants is their adaptability of size and form in response to widely fluctuating environments. The metabolism and redistribution of the phytohormone auxin play pivotal roles in establishing active auxin gradients and resulting cellular differentiation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, cotyledons and leaves synthesize indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from tryptophan through indole-3-pyruvic acid (3-IPA) in response to vegetational shade. This newly synthesized auxin moves to the hypocotyl where it induces elongation of hypocotyl cells. Here we show that loss of function of VAS2 (IAA-amido synthetase Gretchen Hagen 3 (GH3).17) leads to increases in free IAA at the expense of IAA-Glu (IAA-glutamate) in the hypocotyl epidermis. This active IAA elicits shade- and high temperature-induced hypocotyl elongation largely independently of 3-IPA-mediated IAA biosynthesis in cotyledons. Our results reveal an unexpected capacity of local auxin metabolism to modulate the homeostasis and spatial distribution of free auxin in specialized organs such as hypocotyls in response to shade and high temperature.