ROS homeostasis mediated by MPK4 and SUMM2 determines synergid cell death.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35365652.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-29373-7 and PMC identifier 8976062.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Sexual plant reproduction depends on the attraction of sperm-cell delivering pollen tubes (PT) by two synergids, followed by their programmed cell death (PCD) in Arabidopsis. Disruption of the mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 (MPK4) by pathogenic effectors activates the resistance protein (R) SUMM2-mediated immunity and cell death. Here we show that synergid preservation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis are intimately linked and maintained by MPK4. In mpk4, ROS levels are increased and synergids prematurely undergo PCD before PT-reception. However, ROS scavengers and the disruption of SUMM2, in mpk4, restore ROS homeostasis, synergid maintenance and PT perception, demonstrating that the guardian of MPK4, SUMM2, triggers synergid-PCD. In mpk4/summ2, PTs show a feronia-like overgrowth phenotype. Our results show that immunity-associated PCD and synergid cell death during plant reproduction are regulated by MPK4 underscoring an underlying molecular mechanism for the suppression of plant reproduction during systemic R-mediated immunity.
Medical subject headings
- Arabidopsis Proteins