title: Plant resistance against the parasitic nematode Heterodera schachtii is mediated by MPK3 and MPK6 kinases, which are controlled by the MAPK phosphatase AP2C1 in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Plant-parasitic cyst nematodes infect plants and form highly sophisticated feeding sites in roots. It is not known which plant cell signalling mechanisms trigger plant defence during the early stages of nematode parasitism. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are central components of protein phosphorylation cascades transducing extracellular signals to plant defence responses. MAPK phosphatases control kinase activities and the signalling outcome. The involvement and the role of MPK3 and MPK6, as well as the MAPK phosphatase AP2C1, is demonstrated during parasitism of the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii in Arabidopsis. Our data reveal notable activation patterns of plant MAPKs and the induction of AP2C1 suggesting the attenuation of defence signalling in plant cells during early nematode infection. It is demonstrated that the ap2c1 mutant that is lacking AP2C1 is more attractive but less susceptible to nematodes compared with the AP2C1-overexpressing line. This implies that the function of AP2C1 is a negative regulator of nematode-induced defence. By contrast, the enhanced susceptibility of mpk3 and mpk6 plants indicates a positive role of stress-activated MAPKs in plant immunity against nematodes. Evidence is provided that phosphatase AP2C1, as well as AP2C1-targeted MPK3 and MPK6, are important regulators of plant-nematode interaction, where the co-ordinated action of these signalling components ensures the timely activation of plant defence.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, A-3430 Tulln on the Danube, Austria.
authors.forename: Ekaterina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sidonskaya
authors.affiliation: Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University and Medical University of Vienna, Dr Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030 Vienna, Austria Institute of Biotechnology, University of Vilnius, Graiciuno 8, LT-02242 Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Alois
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schweighofer
authors.affiliation: Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University and Medical University of Vienna, Dr Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Volodymyr
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shubchynskyy
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, A-3430 Tulln on the Danube, Austria.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kammerhofer
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, A-3430 Tulln on the Danube, Austria.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, A-3430 Tulln on the Danube, Austria.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wieczorek
authors.affiliation: Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University and Medical University of Vienna, Dr Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030 Vienna, Austria Institute of Biotechnology, University of Vilnius, Graiciuno 8, LT-02242 Vilnius, Lithuania Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria irute.meskiene@univie.ac.at.
authors.forename: Irute
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meskiene
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D057865:Plant Immunity; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014431:Tylenchoidea / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C458516:AtMPK3 protein, Arabidopsis; C436293:MPK6 protein, Arabidopsis; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; C524430:AP2C1 protein, Arabidopsis; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases
keywords: Heterodera schachtii; MAPK phosphatase; MAPK signalling; PP2C phosphatase; plant-pathogen response; plant–nematode interactions.