Autophagy is required for tolerance of drought and salt stress in plants.
Autophagy is a protein degradation process in which cells recycle cytoplasmic contents when subjected to environmental stress conditions or during certain stages of development. Upon the induction of autophagy, a double membrane autophagosome forms around cytoplasmic components and delivers them to the vacuole or lysosome for degradation. In plants, autophagy has been shown previously to be induced during abiotic stresses including nutrient starvation and oxidative stress. In this paper, we demonstrate the induction of autophagy in high salt and osmotic stress conditions, concomitant with the upregulation of expression of an Arabidopsis thaliana autophagy-related gene AtATG18a. Autophagy-defective RNAi-AtATG18a plants are more sensitive to salt and drought conditions than wild-type plants, demonstrating a role for autophagy in the response to these stresses. NADPH oxidase inhibitors block autophagy induction upon nutrient starvation and salt stress, but not during osmotic stress, indicating that autophagy can be activated by NADPH oxidase-dependent or -independent pathways. Together our results indicate that diverse environmental stresses can induce autophagy and that autophagy is regulated by distinct signaling pathways in different conditions.
Liu
Yimo
Y
Interdepartmental Genetics Program and Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Xiong
Yan
Y
Bassham
Diane C
DC
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins; D055864:Droughts; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000378:metabolism; D008353:Mannitol / Q000378:metabolism; D019255:NADPH Oxidases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D034622:RNA Interference; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
C502739:ATG18a protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007093:Imidazoles; D008353:Mannitol; D012965:Sodium Chloride; C029899:imidazole; D019255:NADPH Oxidases