JBC: A plant immune system corrects its course
Plant immune systems, like those of humans and animals, face a difficult balancing act: They must mount responses against ever-evolving pathogens, but they must not overdo it. Immune responses require energy and resources and often involve plants killing their own infected cells to prevent the pathogens from spreading.
![Potato plant Potato plant](http://www.asbmb.org/imagearchive/78681/potato-plant.jpg)
Researchers at Durham University in England have identified a crucial link in the process by which plants regulate their anti-viral responses. The research was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Martin Cann’s lab at Durham, in collaboration with the laboratories of Aska Goverse at Wageningen University and Frank Takken at the University of Amsterdam, studied a receptor protein called Rx1, which is found in potato plants and detects infection by a virus called potato virus X.
Binding to a protein from the virus activates Rx1 and starts a chain of events that results in the plant mounting an immune response. But the exact sequence of cellular events — and how Rx1 activation was translated into action by the rest of the cell — was unknown.
“Our study revealed an exciting, and unexpected, link between pathogen attack and plant DNA,” Cann said.
Specifically, the study showed that Rx1 joins forces with a protein called Glk1. Glk1 is a transcription factor, meaning it binds to specific regions of DNA and activates genes involved in cell death and other plant immune responses. The team found that when Glk1 bound to virus-activated Rx1, it was able to turn on the appropriate defense genes.
When the viral protein was absent, Rx1 seemed to have the opposite effect — actually keeping Glk1 from binding to DNA. In this way, it prevented an inappropriate immune response.
“The immune response involves reprogramming the entire cell and also often the entire plant,” Cann said. “An important part of this regulatory process is not only allowing activation but also making sure the entire system is switched off in the absence of infection.”
More than one-third of the potential global crop harvest is lost to pathogens and pests each year, so breeding plants with better immune systems is an important challenge. Understanding how this immune system is regulated at the appropriate level of activity gives the researchers more ideas of points in the immune signaling pathway that could be targeted to increase the plant’s baseline ability to resist disease.
“To increase (crop) yield, there is an urgent need for new varieties that are resilient to these stresses,” Cann said. “A mechanistic understanding of how plants resist or overcome pathogen attack is crucial to develop new strategies for crop protection.”
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles
![The quest to treat and cure xerostomia](/getmedia/09045019-5c58-4434-9eb0-d6be609842cb/Xerostomia-thumb.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
The quest to treat and cure xerostomia
Blake Warner, chief of the Salivary Disorders Unit at the NIH talks about his lab’s efforts to develop treatments for dry mouth.
![There's more to blue cheese than just the stench](/getmedia/65d1751a-27b4-405b-9210-8cde34249ef5/More-to-blue-cheese-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
There's more to blue cheese than just the stench
Virginia Tech researchers discovered a way to synthesize a compound in the mold of blue cheese that has antibacterial and anticancer properties.
![Engineering cells to broadcast their behavior can help scientists study their inner workings](/getmedia/a5c8da38-1a39-4183-be72-85d5cbff8a29/Engeneering-cells-to-broadcast-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Engineering cells to broadcast their behavior can help scientists study their inner workings
Researchers can use waves to transmit signals from the invisible processes and dynamics underlying how cells make decisions.
![From the journals: JBC](/getmedia/a3620094-c80e-41b9-91ab-22037b087112/FTJ-JBC-07-19-24-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
From the journals: JBC
Lung cancer cells resist ferroptosis. ORMDL3 in ulcerative colitis. Novel genetic variants in thyroid cancer. Read about these recent papers.
![Seeking the sweet spot to beat a pig parasite](/getmedia/30869767-881b-438b-9f19-531ef9eee79e/Pig-parasite-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Seeking the sweet spot to beat a pig parasite
Researchers extracted, separated and tested glycans from the porcine whipworm in an effort to determine the best way to develop treatments and vaccines.
![Radioactive drugs strike cancer with precision](/getmedia/f3a6418b-340a-43cc-b53f-30916dbbd8f4/Radioactive-drugs-strike-cancer-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Radioactive drugs strike cancer with precision
The tumor-seeking radiopharmaceuticals are charting a new course in oncology, with promise for targeted treatments with fewer side effects.