Viral action on the auxin signaling repressor IAA16 reveals a conserved negative regulator of plant growth and immunity.
Chen GP, Wu YM, Zhao SX, Wang SD, Liu YQ
Plant Signaling
Tomatoes, peppers, and squash in your garden are constantly battling viruses that secretly sabotage their ability to both grow and defend themselves — and this discovery points toward a way to breed crops that no longer have to choose between the two.
Plants have a frustrating built-in trade-off: when they focus energy on fighting disease, they grow more slowly, and vice versa. Scientists found a single protein, IAA16, that acts like a dial controlling both processes at once. Sneaky plant viruses exploit this protein to make plants weaker and more vulnerable — but now that we know how it works, we may be able to breed crops that are both vigorous growers and strong disease fighters.
Key Findings
The protein IAA16 acts as a negative regulator of both plant growth (auxin signaling) and immune response (salicylic acid signaling), making it a rare dual-pathway master regulator.
Geminivirus-betasatellite complexes deploy a viral protein (βC1) that blocks the plant's normal process of breaking down IAA16, artificially elevating its levels to suppress both growth and immunity simultaneously.
This viral manipulation of IAA16 was confirmed to be conserved across both model and crop plants, including tomato, suggesting broad relevance for agricultural applications.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a molecular switch called IAA16 that controls both plant growth and disease resistance, and found that plant viruses hijack this switch to weaken crops. Understanding this mechanism could help breed crops that grow well AND fight off diseases simultaneously.
Abstract Preview
Crop breeding endeavors are frequently constrained by the growth-defense trade-off, and uncoupling this trade-off remains challenging due to the limited knowledge of master regulators. Geminivirus-...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
The tomato is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from western South America, and may have been domesticated there, in Mexico, or in Central America. Th...