The BRI1-associated kinase 1, BAK1, has a brassinolide-independent role in plant cell-death control.
Programmed cell death (PCD) is a common host response to microbial infection [1-3]. In plants, PCD is associated with immunity to biotrophic pathogens, but it can also promote disease upon infection by necrotrophic pathogens [4]. Therefore, plant cell-suicide programs must be strictly controlled. Here we demonstrate that the Arabidopsis thaliana Brassinosteroid Insensitive 1 (BRI1)-associated receptor Kinase 1 (BAK1), which operates as a coreceptor of BRI1 in brassinolide (BL)-dependent plant development, also regulates the containment of microbial infection-induced cell death. BAK1-deficient plants develop spreading necrosis upon infection. This is accompanied by production of reactive oxygen intermediates and results in enhanced susceptibility to necrotrophic fungal pathogens. The exogenous application of BL rescues growth defects of bak1 mutants but fails to restore immunity to fungal infection. Moreover, BL-insensitive and -deficient mutants do not exhibit spreading necrosis or enhanced susceptibility to fungal infections. Together, these findings suggest that plant steroid-hormone signaling is dispensable for the containment of infection-induced PCD. We propose a novel, BL-independent function of BAK1 in plant cell-death control that is distinct from its BL-dependent role in plant development.
Kemmerling
Birgit
B
Department of Plant Biochemistry, Center for Plant Molecular Biology, Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Schwedt
Anne
A
Rodriguez
Patricia
P
Mazzotta
Sara
S
Frank
Markus
M
Qamar
Synan Abu
SA
Mengiste
Tesfaye
T
Betsuyaku
Shigeyuki
S
Parker
Jane E
JE
Müssig
Carsten
C
Thomma
Bart P H J
BP
Albrecht
Catherine
C
de Vries
Sacco C
SC
Hirt
Heribert
H
Nürnberger
Thorsten
T
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D060406:Brassinosteroids; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D002777:Cholestanols / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D010935:Plant Diseases; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D044224:Pseudomonas syringae / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013260:Steroids, Heterocyclic / Q000378:metabolism
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D060406:Brassinosteroids; D002777:Cholestanols; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D013260:Steroids, Heterocyclic; C463660:BAK1 protein, Arabidopsis; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C023623:brassinolide