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Plant Physiology Preview Published on January 9, 2008; 10.1104/pp.107.113969
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
Received November 26, 2007 Modulation of the hormone setting by Rhodococcus fascians results in ectopic KNOX activation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 9052 Gent, Belgium; Department of Molecular Genetics, Ghent University, 9052 Gent, Belgium; Umea Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183 Umea, Sweden; and Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Palacky University and Institute of Experimental Botany ASCR, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic * Corresponding author; email: marcelle.holsters{at}psb.ugent.be.
The biotrophic actinomycete Rhodococcus fascians has a profound impact on plant development and a common aspect of the symptomatology is the deformation of infected leaves. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the serrated leaf margins formed upon infection resemble the leaf phenotype of transgenic plants with ectopic expression of KNOTTED-like homeobox (KNOX) genes. Through transcript profiling, we demonstrate that class-I KNOX genes are transcribed in symptomatic leaves. Functional analysis revealed that BP/KNAT1 and mainly STM were essential for the observed leaf dissection. However, these results also positioned the KNOX genes downstream in the signaling cascade triggered by R. fascians infection. The much faster activation of ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE REGULATOR5 and the establishment of homeostatic and feedback mechanisms to control cytokinin levels support the overrepresentation of this hormone in infected plants due to the secretion by the pathogen, thereby placing the cytokinin response high up in the cascade. Hormone measurements show a net decrease of tested cytokinins, indicating that secretion by the bacterium and degradation by the plant are in balance, or, as suggested by the strong reaction of 35S:CKX plants, that other (unknown) cytokinins are at play. At early time points of the interaction, activation of gibberellin 2-oxidase presumably installs a local hormonal setting favorable for meristematic activity that provokes leaf serrations. The results are discussed in the context of symptom development, evasion of plant defense, and the establishment of a specific niche by R. fascians.
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