title: Arabidopsis Elongator subunit 2 positively contributes to resistance to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola.
abstract: The evolutionarily conserved Elongator complex functions in diverse biological processes including salicylic acid-mediated immune response. However, how Elongator functions in jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET)-mediated defense is unknown. Here, we show that Elongator is required for full induction of the JA/ET defense pathway marker gene PLANT DEFENSIN1.2 (PDF1.2) and for resistance to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola. A loss-of-function mutation in the Arabidopsis Elongator subunit 2 (ELP2) alters B. cinerea-induced transcriptome reprogramming. Interestingly, in elp2, expression of WRKY33, OCTADECANOID-RESPONSIVE ARABIDOPSIS AP2/ERF59 (ORA59), and PDF1.2 is inhibited, whereas transcription of MYC2 and its target genes is enhanced. However, overexpression of WRKY33 or ORA59 and mutation of MYC2 fail to restore PDF1.2 expression and B. cinerea resistance in elp2, suggesting that ELP2 is required for induction of not only WRKY33 and ORA59 but also PDF1.2. Moreover, elp2 is as susceptible as coronatine-insensitive1 (coi1) and ethylene-insensitive2 (ein2) to B. cinerea, indicating that ELP2 is an important player in B. cinerea resistance. Further analysis of the lesion sizes on the double mutants elp2 coi1 and elp2 ein2 and the corresponding single mutants revealed that the function of ELP2 overlaps with COI1 and is additive to EIN2 for B. cinerea resistance. Finally, basal histone acetylation levels in the coding regions of WRKY33, ORA59, and PDF1.2 are reduced in elp2 and a functional ELP2-GFP fusion protein binds to the chromatin of these genes, suggesting that constitutive ELP2-mediated histone acetylation may be required for full activation of the WRKY33/ORA59/PDF1.2 transcriptional cascade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110700, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Chenggang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110700, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Yezhang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, University of Florida, P.O. Box 103622, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118545, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colee
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110700, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Zhonglin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mou
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000528:Alternaria / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D020171:Botrytis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D023082:Defensins / Q000235:genetics; D060467:Disease Resistance; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D002843:Chromatin; D003517:Cyclopentanes; D023082:Defensins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; D054883:Oxylipins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D014157:Transcription Factors; C112279:COI1 protein, Arabidopsis; C119963:EIN2 protein, Arabidopsis; C473611:MYC2 protein, Arabidopsis; C531343:ORA59 protein, Arabidopsis; C487542:At5g44420 protein, Arabidopsis; C517860:WRKY33 protein, Arabidopsis; C072239:methyl jasmonate; C585566:ELP2 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; COI1; EIN2; Elongator; ethylene; gene expression; jasmonic acid; plant immunity