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Review
. 2015 Jul;14(4):243-52.
doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elv013. Epub 2015 Apr 6.

Nuclear processes associated with plant immunity and pathogen susceptibility

Graham B Motion, Tiago M M M Amaro, Natalja Kulagina, Edgar Huitema
Review

Nuclear processes associated with plant immunity and pathogen susceptibility

Graham B Motion et al. Brief Funct Genomics. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

Plants are sessile organisms that have evolved exquisite and sophisticated mechanisms to adapt to their biotic and abiotic environment. Plants deploy receptors and vast signalling networks to detect, transmit and respond to a given biotic threat by inducing properly dosed defence responses. Genetic analyses and, more recently, next-generation -omics approaches have allowed unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that drive immunity. Similarly, functional genomics and the emergence of pathogen genomes have allowed reciprocal studies on the mechanisms governing pathogen virulence and host susceptibility, collectively allowing more comprehensive views on the processes that govern disease and resistance. Among others, the identification of secreted pathogen molecules (effectors) that modify immunity-associated processes has changed the plant-microbe interactions conceptual landscape. Effectors are now considered both important factors facilitating disease and novel probes, suited to study immunity in plants. In this review, we will describe the various mechanisms and processes that take place in the nucleus and help regulate immune responses in plants. Based on the premise that any process required for immunity could be _targeted by pathogen effectors, we highlight and describe a number of functional assays that should help determine effector functions and their impact on immune-related processes. The identification of new effector functions that modify nuclear processes will help dissect nuclear signalling further and assist us in our bid to bolster immunity in crop plants.

Keywords: effector; immunity; next-generation sequencing (NGS); nucleus; pathogen; susceptibility.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of immunity-related nuclear processes. Several nuclear processes have been implicated in plant immunity. Plant proteins involved in plant immunity are highlighted in green and pathogen effectors that _target host nuclear processes are highlighted in red. Nuclear transport: The transport of immune regulators and signalling proteins into the nucleus is the first step of the nuclear involvement in immunity. Nuclear transporters as importins and proteins of the MOS family have been involved in plant resistance mechanisms. Moreover, these transporters were shown to be required for the transport of nuclear effectors. PTMs: PTMs are also believed to be an essential mechanism to regulate defence responses in the cytoplasm but also in the host nucleus. Phosphorylation, ubiquitination and sumoylation have been shown to _target nuclear proteins as WRKY transcription factors and thus regulate defence responses. Histone and DNA methylation and histone acetylation: Chromatin remodelling modifications like histone acetylation (A) and histone and DNA methylation (M) have also been recently connected with immunity. These modifications are thought to alter chromatin structure and therefore alter gene expression during a defence response. Transcriptional control: During an infection process, dramatic transcriptional changes occur. These changes mediated in part by transcription factors (TFs) are crucial for a proper plant immune response. Post-transcriptional control: Immunity appears to be regulated not only at the post-translational and transcriptional level but also at the post-transcriptional level. Processes as APA, AS and RNAi have also been connected with plant immunity. (A colour version of this figure is available online at: http://bfg.oxfordjournals.org)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of approaches to identify and characterize nuclear effector functions. (A) A construct reporting to the function of an immunity-related process could be over-expressed along with an effector. If the effector _targets the tested immunity process, the expression of the reporter would be disrupted. This assay allows the identification of effectors _targeting a known host immunity process. (B) Constitutive expression of nuclear effectors in planta and a phenotypic comparison with previously characterized mutant plants could allow the connection of effectors with specific cellular processes. (C) Proteomic and transcriptomic analysis in plants expressing an effector could be useful to further understanding what processes are being _targeted by a specific effector. Moreover, it could be a valuable approach to identify new plant nuclear immunity-associated processes. (A colour version of this figure is available online at: http://bfg.oxfordjournals.org)
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