Microbial siderophores exert a subtle role in Arabidopsis during infection by manipulating the immune response and the iron status.
Siderophores (ferric ion chelators) are secreted by organisms in response to iron deficiency. The pathogenic enterobacterium Erwinia chrysanthemi produces two siderophores, achromobactin and chrysobactin (CB), which are required for systemic dissemination in host plants. Previous studies have shown that CB is produced in planta and can trigger the up-regulation of the plant ferritin gene AtFER1. To further investigate the function of CB during pathogenesis, we analyzed its effect in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants following leaf infiltration. CB activates the salicylic acid (SA)-mediated signaling pathway, while the CB ferric complex is ineffective, suggesting that the elicitor activity of this siderophore is due to its iron-binding property. We confirmed this hypothesis by testing the effect of siderophores structurally unrelated to CB, including deferrioxamine. There was no activation of SA-dependent defense in plants grown under iron deficiency before CB treatment. Transcriptional analysis of the genes encoding the root ferrous ion transporter and ferric chelate reductase, and determination of the activity of this enzyme in response to CB or deferrioxamine, showed that these compounds induce a leaf-to-root iron deficiency signal. This root response as well as ferritin gene up-regulation in the leaf were not compromised in a SA-deficient mutant line. Using the Arabidopsis-E. chrysanthemi pathosystem, we have shown that CB promotes bacterial growth in planta and can modulate plant defenses through an antagonistic mechanism between SA and jasmonic acid signaling cascades. Collectively, these data reveal a new link between two processes mediated by SA and iron in response to microbial siderophores.
Dellagi
Alia
A
Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Pathogènes, UMR 217, INRA/AgroParisTech/Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France. dellagi@agroparistech.fr
Segond
Diego
D
Rigault
Martine
M
Fagard
Mathilde
M
Simon
Clara
C
Saindrenan
Patrick
P
Expert
Dominique
D
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016974:Dickeya chrysanthemi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D038181:FMN Reductase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D017343:Genes, Plant; D055633:Immune System Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D008954:Models, Biological; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D017262:Siderophores / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D004151:Dipeptides; D005030:Ethylenes; C099651:IRT1 protein, Arabidopsis; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents; D017262:Siderophores; C058543:chrysobactin; C036216:ethylene; D007501:Iron; D038181:FMN Reductase; C023903:ferric citrate iron reductase; D020156:Salicylic Acid