Calcium signaling in pathogenic and beneficial plant microbe interactions: What can we learn from the interaction between Piriformospora indica and Arabidopsis thaliana

Elevation of intracellular calcium levels in a plant cell is an early signaling event in many mutualistic and pathogenic plant/microbe interactions. In pathogenic plant/fungus interactions, receptor-mediated cytoplasmic calcium elevations induce defense genes via the activation of ion fluxes at the plasma membrane, an oxidative burst and MAPK activation. Mycorrhizal and beneficial endophytic plant/fungus interactions result in a better plant performance through sequencial cytoplasmic and nuclear calcium elevations. The specificity of the calcium responses depends on the calcium signature, its amplitude, duration, frequency and location, a selective activation of calcium channels in the diverse cellular membranes and the stimulation of calcium-dependent signaling components. Arabidopsis contains more than 100 genes for calcium-binding proteins and channels and the response to pathogens and beneficial fungi relies on a highly specific activation of individual members of these protein families. Genetic tools are required to understand this complex response patterns and the cross talks between the individual calcium-dependent signaling pathways. The beneficial interaction of Arabidopsis with the growth-promoting endophyte Piriformospora indica provides a nice model system to unravel signaling events leading to mutualistic or pathogenic plant/fungus interactions.Key words: Piriformospora indica, calcium, calcium signature, plant/microbe interaction     

拟南芥AtWRKY25、AtWRKY26和AtWRKY33在非生物胁迫条件下的表达分析

WRKY 转录因子家族在调控植物逆境诱导反应、生长发育及其信号转导等方面起着重要的分子生物学功能。文章采用Northern 杂交的方法, 对拟南芥3个WRKY基因进行表达谱分析。结果表明: AtWRKY25、AtWRKY26和AtWRKY33受多种非生物逆境因子(温度因子、高盐、渗透胁迫和激素脱落酸)的影响, 其中低温和高盐对AtWRKY25、AtWRKY26和AtWRKY33的诱导尤为明显, 表明这3个AtWRKY基因可能在响应环境信号方面起着一定的作用。作为序列相似性较高的AtWRKY25、AtWRKY26和AtWRKY33对一些胁迫因子的表达模式呈现一定的相似性; 但AtWRKY33受高温的抑制和低温的快速诱导, 与另外两个基因的表达模式不同, 推测它们对温度胁迫因子的反应存在差异。此外, 对启动子序列的生物信息学分析发现, 3个基因的启动子包含多个与非生物逆境反应相关的顺式作用元件。