HISTONE DEACETYLASE 6 represses pathogen defence responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Yizhong Wang, Qin Hu, Zhenjiang Wu, Hui Wang, Shiming Han, Ye Jin, Jin Zhou, Zhengfeng Zhang, Jiafu Jiang, Yun Shen, Huazhong Shi, Wannian Yang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plant defence mechanisms are suppressed in the absence of pathogen attack to prevent wasted energy and growth inhibition. However, how defence responses are repressed is not well understood. Histone deacetylase 6 (HDA6) is a negative regulator of gene expression, and its role in pathogen defence response in plants is not known. In this study, a novel allele of hda6 (designated as shi5) with spontaneous defence response was isolated from a forward genetics screening in Arabidopsis. The shi5 mutant exhibited increased resistance to hemibiotrophic bacterial pathogen Pst DC3000, constitutively activated expression of pathogen-responsive genes including PR1, PR2, etc. and increased histone acetylation levels at the promoters of most tested genes that were upregulated in shi5. In both wild type and shi5 plants, the expression and histone acetylation of these genes were upregulated by pathogen infection. HDA6 was found to bind to the promoters of these genes under both normal growth conditions and pathogen infection. Our research suggests that HDA6 is a general repressor of pathogen defence response and plays important roles in inhibiting and modulating the expression of pathogen-responsive genes in Arabidopsis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2972-2986
Number of pages15
JournalPlant Cell and Environment
Volume40
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2017

Keywords

  • HDA6
  • basal immunity
  • gene repression

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'HISTONE DEACETYLASE 6 represses pathogen defence responses in Arabidopsis thaliana'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this