A comparison of the effects of DNA-damaging agents and biotic elicitors on the induction of plant defense genes, nuclear distortion, and cell death

Jane JUNGHAE CHOI; Steven J KLOSTERMAN; Lee A HADWIGER

doi:10.1104/pp.125.2.752

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A comparison of the effects of DNA-damaging agents and biotic elicitors on the induction of plant defense genes, nuclear distortion, and cell death

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A comparison of the effects of DNA-damaging agents and biotic elicitors on the induction of plant defense genes, nuclear distortion, and cell death

Jane JUNGHAE CHOI, Steven J KLOSTERMAN and Lee A HADWIGER

Plant physiology (Bethesda), Vol.125(2), pp.752-762

2001

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.125.2.752

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https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100607

PMID: 11161032

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Abstract

Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology

Pathology, epidemiology, host-fungus relationships. Damages, economic importance

Genetics and breeding of economic plants

Varietal selection. Specialized plant breeding, plant breeding aims

Fungal plant pathogens

Biological and medical sciences

Pest resistance

Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection

Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions

Plant pathogens

Pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Alcan) endocarp tissue challenged with an incompatible fungal pathogen, Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli or fungal elicitors results in the induction of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes and the accumulation of pisatin, a phytoalexin. Essentially the same response occurs in pea tissue exposed to DNA-specific agents that crosslink or intercalate DNA. In this study, the effects of DNA-damaging agents were assessed relative to the inducible expression of several pea PR genes: phenylalanine ammonia lyase, chalcone synthase, and DRR206. Mitomycin C and actinomycin D mimicked the biotic elicitors in enhancing the expression of all three PR genes. The activities of these PR gene promoters, isolated from different plants, were evaluated heterologously in transgenic tobacco. It is remarkable that-glucuronidase expression was induced when plants containing the heterologous phenylalanine ammonia lyase, chalcone synthase, and DRR206 promoter-glucuronidase chimeric reporter genes were treated by DNA-damaging agents. Finally, cytological analyses indicated that many of these agents caused nuclear distortion and collapse of the treated pea cells. Yet we observed that cell death is not necessary for the induction of the PR gene promoters assessed in this study. Based on these observations and previously published results, we propose that DNA damage or the associated alteration of chromatin can signal the transcriptional activation of plant defense genes.

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Title: A comparison of the effects of DNA-damaging agents and biotic elicitors on the induction of plant defense genes, nuclear distortion, and cell death
Creators: Jane JUNGHAE CHOI - Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-6430, United States
Steven J KLOSTERMAN - Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-6430, United States
Lee A HADWIGER - Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-6430, United States
Publication Details: Plant physiology (Bethesda), Vol.125(2), pp.752-762
Academic Unit: Department of Plant Pathology
Publisher: American Society of Plant Physiologists; Rockville, MD
Identifiers: 99900546698501842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article