Host target modification as a strategy to counter pathogen hijacking of the jasmonate hormone receptor

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1510745112
• Publication Date: 2015-11-03T01:40:47Z
• Authors: Li Zhang; Jian Yao; John Withers; Xiu-Fang Xin; Rahul Banerjee; Qazi Fariduddin; Yoko Nakamura; Kinya Nomura; Gregg A. Howe; Wilhelm Boland; Honggao Yan; Sheng Yang He
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Indenes; Bacterial Toxins; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Arabidopsis; Pseudomonas syringae; Cyclopentanes; Oxylipins; Amino Acids

SignificancePathogen infections can cause significant crop losses worldwide and major disturbances in natural ecosystems. Understanding the molecular basis of plant disease susceptibility is important for the development of new strategies to prevent disease outbreaks. Recent studies have identified the plant jasmonate (JA) hormone receptor as one of the common targets of pathogen virulence factors. In this study, we modified the JA receptor and showed that transgenicArabidopsisplants with the modified JA receptor gained resistance to bacterial pathogens that secrete a potent JA-mimicking toxin to promote infection. Our results suggest that host target modification may be developed as a new strategy to protect the disease-vulnerable components of the susceptible plant against highly evolved pathogens.