Overexpression of DWARF AND LESION FORMATION 1 (DLE1) causes altered activation of plant defense system in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

A novel gain-of-function mutant showing dwarfism and bushy inflorescences was isolated from Arabidopsis activation-tagging lines. Transformed plants, in which the gene responsible for the phenotype of the mutant was overexpressed, exhibited phenotypes similar to constitutive systematic acquired resistance (SAR)-like defense responses including simulation of lesions in leaves and a highly activated PATHOGENESIS-RELATED 1 gene. We, therefore, designated the gene as DWARF AND LESION FORMATION 1 (DLE1) and showed it encodes a DUF 247 protein.Microarray and gene ontology analyses revealed that defense response genes, especially to biotic stimulus, were enriched in DLE1 overexpressing plants. Fusion proteins of the N-terminal fragment of DLE1 and GFP were likely to be localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in tobacco BY-2 cells. DLE1 may function in the plant defense system responding to environmental stimuli including biotic stresses in the ER.

Identification of the genes at S and Z reveals the molecular basis and evolution of grass self-incompatibility

“…One idea on the evolution of SI, is that this pathway shares a common ancestor with plant defence systems (Hiscock et al, 1996;Nasrallah, 2005). Intriguingly, overexpression of a DUF247 gene in Arabidopsis leads to SAR-like defense response, supporting this hypothesis for grass SI (Kondou et al, 2013).…”

Natural variation in salt-induced changes in root:shoot ratio revealsSR3Gas a negative regulator of root suberization and salt resilience in Arabidopsis

“…SR3G was previously associated with self-incompatibility in grasses (Lian et al 2021; Crain et al 2020), as well as with lesions and dwarfism in Arabidopsis (Kondou et al 2013) through constitutive activation of defense responses. However, the SR3G associated with constitutive defense response was AT3G60470 (Kondou et al 2013), which is located outside the interval associated with salt stress-induced changes in root:shoot ratio ( Fig. 2C ).…”

Disruption of a DUF247 Containing Protein Alters Cell Wall Polysaccharides and Reduces Growth in Arabidopsis

“…qRT-PCR in WT and duf247-1-1 seedlings shows that, although DUF247-1 is not the predominantly expressed gene in the DUF247 gene family, the expression profiles of the clade II are altered in the mutant, suggesting a regulatory response among the family members. Molecular characterization of the DUF247 family so far has been reported only for the members of the clade I family [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], and none of these has yet been shown to be associated with the plant cell wall. Here, we show that DUF247-At3g50120 , a member of the DUF247 family clade II, encodes a protein that plays a role related to cell wall matrix polysaccharide biosynthesis and is required for normal cell wall composition and structure, as well as normal Arabidopsis growth.…”

“…While some members have been implicated in plant development, sex incompatibility and sex determination, the molecular function of the DUF247 protein family is not well understood. Overexpression of DUF247-At3g60470 ( DLE1 ) has been shown to cause severe dwarfism and bushy inflorescences in Arabidopsis , suggesting a potential role in a plant defense system responding to environmental stimuli and biotic stresses [ 23 ]. SOFF ( suppression of female function ), which is closely similar to Arabidopsis DUF247-At4g31980 , is Y chromosome-specific for the male genome of asparagus and plays a role in suppressing pistil development in male flowers [ 24 , 25 ].…”