title: Conserved nematode signalling molecules elicit plant defenses and pathogen resistance.
abstract: Plant-defense responses are triggered by perception of conserved microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), for example, flagellin or peptidoglycan. However, it remained unknown whether plants can detect conserved molecular patterns derived from plant-parasitic animals, including nematodes. Here we show that several genera of plant-parasitic nematodes produce small molecules called ascarosides, an evolutionarily conserved family of nematode pheromones. Picomolar to micromolar concentrations of ascr#18, the major ascaroside in plant-parasitic nematodes, induce hallmark defense responses including the expression of genes associated with MAMP-triggered immunity, activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, as well as salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-mediated defense signalling pathways. Ascr#18 perception increases resistance in Arabidopsis, tomato, potato and barley to viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal and nematode infections. These results indicate that plants recognize ascarosides as a conserved molecular signature of nematodes. Using small-molecule signals such as ascarosides to activate plant immune responses has potential utility to improve economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.|Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manosalva
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Murli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manohar
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Stephan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: von Reuss
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Shiyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use, and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University, Giessen D-35392, Germany.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.affiliation: Kaplan Schiller Research, LLC, Gainesville, Florida 32604, USA.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Biology Division, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Micikas
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.|Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, US Department of Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use, and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University, Giessen D-35392, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1226-003X
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kogel
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Biology Division, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7699-0173
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Valerie M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Klessig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000378:metabolism; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D009348:Nematoda / Q000378:metabolism*; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000378:metabolism; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism*; D057865:Plant Immunity; D044224:Pseudomonas syringae; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D003517:Cyclopentanes; D054883:Oxylipins; D010675:Pheromones; C011006:jasmonic acid; D020156:Salicylic Acid