Autophagy promotes jasmonate-mediated defense against nematodes

Abstract

Autophagy, as an intracellular degradation system, plays a critical role in plant immunity. However, the involvement of autophagy in the plant immune system and its function in plant nematode resistance are largely unknown. Here, we show that root-knot nematode (RKN; Meloidogyne incognita) infection induces autophagy in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and different atg mutants exhibit high sensitivity to RKNs. The jasmonate (JA) signaling negative regulators JASMONATE-ASSOCIATED MYC2-LIKE 1 (JAM1), JAM2 and JAM3 interact with ATG8s via an ATG8-interacting motif (AIM), and JAM1 is degraded by autophagy during RKN infection. JAM1 impairs the formation of a transcriptional activation complex between ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 1 (ERF1) and MEDIATOR 25 (MED25) and interferes with transcriptional regulation of JA-mediated defense-related genes by ERF1. Furthermore, ERF1 acts in a positive feedback loop and regulates autophagy activity by transcriptionally activating ATG expression in response to RKN infection. Therefore, autophagy promotes JA-mediated defense against RKNs via forming a positive feedback circuit in the degradation of JAMs and transcriptional activation by ERF1.

Pumpkin CmoDREB2A enhances salt tolerance of grafted cucumber through interaction with CmoNAC1 to regulate H2O2 and ABA signaling and K+/Na+ homeostasis

“…In line with the procedures described by a previous study [ 54 ], GUS histochemical staining and luciferase (LUC) was employed to detect the interaction between transcription factors and promoters. The binding site repeated three times in series was used as promoter sequence.…”

MAPK20-mediated ATG6 phosphorylation is critical for pollen development in Solanum lycopersicum L.

“…Meanwhile, as the housekeeping mechanism of eukaryotes, autophagy can degrade macromolecular protein aggregates and organelles, playing a crucial role in nutrient cycling, cellular waste management, and organelle quality control [ 29 , 32 ]. The double-membrane structure of autophagosomes is formed in the cytosol and can engulf intracellular components and transfer to vacuoles for further degradation and reuse [ 33–35 ]. Previous studies have shown that autophagy is involved in regulation of tapetal cells degradation and pollen development [ 36 , 37 ].…”