Expression of tomato prosystemin gene in Arabidopsis reveals systemic translocation of its mRNA and confers necrotrophic fungal resistance

Systemin (SYS), an octadecapeptide hormone processed from a 200-amino-acid precursor (prosystemin, PS), plays a central role in the systemic activation of defense genes in tomato in response to herbivore and pathogen attacks. However, whether PS mRNA is transferable and its role in systemic defense...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2018-01, Vol.217 (2), p.799-812
Main Authors: Zhang, Haiyan, Yu, Pengli, Zhao, Jiuhai, Jiang, Hongling, Wang, Haiyang, Zhu, Yingfang, Botella, Miguel A., Šamaj, Jozef, Li, Chuanyou, Lin, Jinxing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis - drug effects
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - microbiology
Botrytis - drug effects
Botrytis - physiology
Confocal microscopy
Disease Resistance - drug effects
Disease Resistance - genetics
DNA
Ectopic expression
Fluorescence
Fungi
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects
Genes
Genetic engineering
Green fluorescent protein
Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism
Herbivores
Hormones
Lasers
Localization
long‐distance movement
Lycopersicon esculentum - microbiology
Microscopy
mobile signal
Nucleotide sequence
pathogen resistance
Pathogens
PCR
Peptides - pharmacology
Plant Diseases - genetics
Plant Diseases - microbiology
Plant Proteins - genetics
Plant Proteins - metabolism
Plant Roots - drug effects
Plant Roots - genetics
Plant Shoots - drug effects
Plant Shoots - genetics
Plants, Genetically Modified
Promoters
prosystemin
Proteins
Proteolysis - drug effects
RNA Transport - drug effects
RNA Transport - genetics
RNA, Messenger - genetics
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
Scanning microscopy
Seedlings - drug effects
Seedlings - growth & development
Seedlings - physiology
Signaling
Subcellular Fractions - metabolism
systemin
tomato
Tomatoes
Transcription activation
Translocation
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Summary:Systemin (SYS), an octadecapeptide hormone processed from a 200-amino-acid precursor (prosystemin, PS), plays a central role in the systemic activation of defense genes in tomato in response to herbivore and pathogen attacks. However, whether PS mRNA is transferable and its role in systemic defense responses remain unknown. We created the transgenic tomato PS gene tagged with the green fluorescent protein (PS-GFP) using a shoot- or root-specific promoter, and the constitutive 35S promoter in Arabidopsis. Subcellular localization of PS-/SYS-GFP was observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy and gene transcripts were determined using quantitative real-time PCR. In Arabidopsis, PS protein can be processed and SYS is secreted. Shoot-/root-specific expression of PS-GFP in Arabidopsis, and grafting experiments, revealed that the PS mRNA moves in a bi-directional manner. We also found that ectopic expression of PS improves Arabidopsis resistance to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea, consistent with substantial upregulation of the transcript levels of specific pathogen-responsive genes. Our results provide novel insights into the multifaceted mechanism of SYS signaling transport and its potential application in genetic engineering for increasing pathogen resistance across diverse plant families.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.14858