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- Andreasson, Erik, et al.
(author)
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The MAP kinase substrate MKS1 is a regulator of plant defence responces
- 2005
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In: EMBO Journal. - : Wiley. - 1460-2075 .- 0261-4189. ; 24:14, s. 2579-2589
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Arabidopsis MAP kinase 4 (MPK4) functions as a regulator of pathogen defense responses, because it is required for both repression of salicylic acid (SA)-dependent resistance and for activation of jasmonate (JA)-dependent defense gene expression. To understand MPK4 signaling mechanisms, we used yeast two-hybrid screening to identify the MPK4 substrate MKS1. Analyses of transgenic plants and genome-wide transcript profiling indicated that MKS1 is required for full SA-dependent resistance in mpk4 mutants, and that overexpression of MKS1 in wild-type plants is sufficient to activate SA-dependent resistance, but does not interfere with induction of a defense gene by JA. Further yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that MKS1 interacts with the WRKY transcription factors WRKY25 and WRKY33. WRKY25 and WRKY33 were shown to be in vitro substrates of MPK4, and a wrky33 knockout mutant was found to exhibit increased expression of the SA-related defense gene PR1. MKS1 may therefore contribute to MPK4-regulated defense activation by coupling the kinase to specific WRKY transcription factors.
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2. |
- Schikora, Adam, et al.
(author)
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The dark side of the salad : Salmonella typhimurium overcomes the innate immune response of Arabidopsis thaliana and shows an endopathogenic lifestyle
- 2008
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 3:5, s. e2279-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium contaminated vegetables and fruits are considerable sources of human infections. Bacteria present in raw plant-derived nutrients cause salmonellosis, the world wide most spread food poisoning. This facultative endopathogen enters and replicates in host cells and actively suppresses host immune responses. Although Salmonella survives on plants, the underlying bacterial infection mechanisms are only poorly understood. In this report we investigated the possibility to use Arabidopsis thaliana as a genetically tractable host system to study Salmonella-plant interactions. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) marked bacteria, we show here that Salmonella can infect various Arabidopsis tissues and proliferate in intracellular cellular compartments. Salmonella infection of Arabidopsis cells can occur via intact shoot or root tissues resulting in wilting, chlorosis and eventually death of the infected organs. Arabidopsis reacts to Salmonella by inducing the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades and enhanced expression of pathogenesis related (PR) genes. The induction of defense responses fails in plants that are compromised in ethylene or jasmonic acid signaling or in the MKK3-MPK6 MAPK pathway. These findings demonstrate that Arabidopsis represents a true host system for Salmonella, offering unique possibilities to study the interaction of this human pathogen with plants at the molecular level for developing novel drug targets and addressing current safety issues in human nutrition.
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