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The Ethylene Signaling Pathway is Needed to Restrict Root Gall Growth in Arabidopsis after Infection with the Obligate Biotrophic Protist Plasmodiophora brassicae

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Abstract

A possible role for ethylene in the interaction of Arabidopsis thaliana and the obligate biotrophic protist Plasmodiophora brassicae, causing clubroot disease, has been investigated. The ethylene (ET) precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) was lower in infected compared to control roots during early time points of the interaction. We therefore analyzed the transcription of selected genes encoding proteins involved in ET synthesis. One gene for ACC oxidase was consistently upregulated in infected roots, whereas transcriptional regulation of other ET biosynthesis genes varied according to the time point during infection. The ET-overproducing mutant eto2 was slightly less susceptible to the clubroot pathogen. The analysis of mutants within the ET signaling pathway showed that they were more susceptible to the clubroot pathogen than wild-type Columbia, that is, they formed larger galls. The findings are discussed in relation to a potential effect of ET on Arabidopsis root infection by P. brassicae.

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  1. Andrea Knaust

    Present address: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307, Dresden, Germany

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  1. Institut für Botanik, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 20b, 01062, Dresden, Germany

    Andrea Knaust & Jutta Ludwig-Müller

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Correspondence to Jutta Ludwig-Müller.

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Knaust, A., Ludwig-Müller, J. The Ethylene Signaling Pathway is Needed to Restrict Root Gall Growth in Arabidopsis after Infection with the Obligate Biotrophic Protist Plasmodiophora brassicae . J Plant Growth Regul 32, 9–21 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-012-9271-y

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