• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.311-319
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• 2018

The gaseous hormone ethylene influences many aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to a variety of stresses. The biosynthesis of ethylene is tightly regulated by various internal and external stimuli, and the primary target of the regulation is the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase (ACS), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of ethylene biosynthesis. We have previously demonstrated that the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis is a common feature of most of the phytohormones in etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings via the modulation of the protein stability of ACS. Here, we show that various phytohormones also regulate ethylene biosynthesis from etiolated rice seedlings in a similar manner to those in Arabidopsis. Cytokinin, brassinosteroids, and gibberellic acid increase ethylene biosynthesis without changing the transcript levels of neither OsACS nor ACC oxidases (OsACO), a family of enzymes catalyzing the final step of the ethylene biosynthetic pathway. Likewise, salicylic acid and abscisic acid do not alter the gene expression of OsACS, but both hormones downregulate the transcript levels of a subset of ACO genes, resulting in a decrease in ethylene biosynthesis. In addition, we show that the treatment of the phytohormones results in distinct etiolated seedling phenotypes, some of which resemble ethylene-responsive phenotypes, while others display ethylene-independent morphologies, indicating a complicated hormone crosstalk in rice. Together, our study brings a new insight into crosstalk between ethylene biosynthesis and other phytohormones, and provides evidence that rice ethylene biosynthesis could be regulated by the post-transcriptional regulation of ACS proteins.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.364-372
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• 2012

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causing bacterial leaf blight disease in rice produces and secretes Hpa1 protein that belongs to harpin protein family. Previously it was reported that Hpa1 induced defense responses when it was produced in tobacco. In this study, we expressed hpa1 gene in rice and Arabidopsis to examine the effects of Hpa1 expression on disease resistance to both fungal and bacterial pathogens. Expression of hpa1 gene in rice enhanced disease resistance to both X. oryzae pv. oryzae and Magnaporthe grisea. Interestingly, individual transgenic rice plants could be divided into four groups, depending on responses to both pathogens. hpa1 expression in Arabidopsis also enhanced disease resistance to both Botrytis cineria and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. To examine genes that are up-regulated in the transgenic rice plants after inoculation with X. oryzae pv. oryzae, known defense-related genes were assessed, and also microarray analysis with the Rice 5 K DNA chip was performed. Interestingly, expression of OsACS1 gene, which was found as the gene that showed the highest induction, was induced earlier and stronger than that in the wild type plant. These results indicate that hpa1 expression in the diverse plant species, including monocot and dicot, can enhance disease resistance to both fungal and bacterial plant pathogens.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.232-239
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• 2007

$HrpN_{EP}$, from the gram-negative pathogen, Erwinia pyrifoliae, is a member of the harpin group of proteins, inducing pathogen resistance and hypersensitive cell death in plants. When the $hrpN_{EP}$ gene driven by the OsCc1 promoter was introduced into tobacco plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, their resistance to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, increased. Resistance to B. cinerea was correlated with enhanced induction of SA-dependent genes such as PR-1a, PR2, PR3 and Chia5, of JA-dependent genes such as PR-1b, and of genes related to ethylene production, such as NT-EFE26, NT-1A1C, DS321, NT-ACS1 and NT-ACS2. However the expression of NPR1, which is thought to be essential for multiple-resistance, did not increase. Since the pattern of expression of defense-related genes in $hrpN_{EP}$-expressing tobacco differed from that in plants expressing $hpaG_{Xoo}$ from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae, these results suggest that different harpins can affect the expression of different defense-related genes, as well as resistance to different plant pathogens.