Plants sense fungal invaders and rush out a defense hormone
Zheng J, Chen S, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Wang S
Plant Signaling
The gray mold that turns strawberries, tomatoes, and grapes fuzzy overnight is one of the most destructive pathogens home gardeners face, and this discovery points toward crops bred or treated to trigger their own defenses faster.
When a fungus tries to invade a plant, the plant can actually taste fragments of the fungus's cell wall and use that as an early warning signal. Researchers found that this warning triggers a chain reaction that quickly boosts a growth hormone called auxin, which helps the plant fight off the infection. They showed this same trick works in both a lab plant and tomatoes, suggesting it could be a widespread strategy plants use to defend themselves.
Key Findings
The CERK1 receptor, which senses fungal chitin, directly phosphorylates three nitrilase enzymes (NIT1, NIT2, NIT3) to activate auxin biosynthesis during infection
Triple mutant plants lacking all three nitrilases showed increased susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, while restoring even a single nitrilase gene rescued resistance
Phosphorylation of NIT2 at a specific site (threonine 149) boosted its enzyme activity; the same nitrilase-dependent defense mechanism was confirmed in tomato via gene silencing
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered how plants detect a fungal attack and rapidly rev up their own defenses: a receptor protein senses fungal cell wall fragments and flips a switch that boosts production of the growth hormone auxin, helping the plant fight off a common gray mold pathogen.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
CERK1-mediated phosphorylation of nitrilases activates auxin biosynthesis and promotes resistance to Botrytis cinerea.
Plant immunity relies on dynamic modulation of phytohormone signaling to balance growth and defense, with auxin contributing to resistance against the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea (B. cin...
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