title: ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 96 positively regulates Arabidopsis resistance to necrotrophic pathogens by direct binding to GCC elements of jasmonate - and ethylene-responsive defence genes.
abstract: The ERF (ethylene responsive factor) family is composed of transcription factors (TFs) that are critical for appropriate Arabidopsis thaliana responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here we identified and characterized a member of the ERF TF group IX, namely ERF96, that when overexpressed enhances Arabidopsis resistance to necrotrophic pathogens such as the fungus Botrytis cinerea and the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum. ERF96 is jasmonate (JA) and ethylene (ET) responsive and ERF96 transcripts accumulation was abolished in JA-insensitive coi1-16 and in ET-insensitive ein2-1 mutants. Protoplast transactivation and electrophoresis mobility shift analyses revealed that ERF96 is an activator of transcription that binds to GCC elements. In addition, ERF96 mainly localized to the nucleus. Microarray analysis coupled to chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR of Arabidopsis overexpressing ERF96 revealed that ERF96 enhances the expression of the JA/ET defence genes PDF1.2a, PR-3 and PR-4 as well as the TF ORA59 by direct binding to GCC elements present in their promoters. While ERF96-RNAi plants demonstrated wild-type resistance to necrotrophic pathogens, basal PDF1.2 expression levels were reduced in ERF96-silenced plants. This work revealed ERF96 as a key player of the ERF network that positively regulates the Arabidopsis resistance response to necrotrophic pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jérémy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catinot
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jing-Bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pin-Yao
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Min-Yuan
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ying-Lan
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shin-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Long-Chi
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yet-Ran
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zimmerli
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020171:Botrytis / Q000502:physiology; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000378:metabolism; D023082:Defensins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D060467:Disease Resistance; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D036226:Seedlings / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D003517:Cyclopentanes; D023082:Defensins; C000611119:ERF96 protein, Arabidopsis; D005030:Ethylenes; D054883:Oxylipins; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C011006:jasmonic acid; C036216:ethylene
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Botrytis cinerea; Pectobacterium carotovorum; ethylene; ethylene responsive factor; innate immunity; necrotroph