Conserved nematode signalling molecules elicit plant defenses and pathogen resistance

  • Nat Commun. 2015 Jul 23;6:7795. doi: 10.1038/ncomms8795.
Patricia Manosalva  1  2 ,  Murli Manohar  1 ,  Stephan H von Reuss  1 ,  Shiyan Chen  3 ,  Aline Koch  4 ,  Fatma Kaplan  5 ,  Andrea Choe  6 ,  Robert J Micikas  1 ,  Xiaohong Wang  3  7 ,  Karl-Heinz Kogel  4 ,  Paul W Sternberg  6 ,  Valerie M Williamson  8 ,  Frank C Schroeder  1 ,  Daniel F Klessig  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
  • 2. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
  • 3. Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
  • 4. Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use, and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University, Giessen D-35392, Germany.
  • 5. Kaplan Schiller Research, LLC, Gainesville, Florida 32604, USA.
  • 6. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Biology Division, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
  • 7. Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, US Department of Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
  • 8. Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
PMID: 26203561 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8795
Abstract

Plant-defense responses are triggered by perception of conserved microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), for example, flagellin or peptidoglycan. However, it remained unknown whether Plants can detect conserved molecular patterns derived from plant-parasitic Animals, including nematodes. Here we show that several genera of plant-parasitic nematodes produce small molecules called ascarosides, an evolutionarily conserved family of nematode pheromones. Picomolar to micromolar concentrations of ascr#18, the major ascaroside in plant-parasitic nematodes, induce hallmark defense responses including the expression of genes associated with MAMP-triggered immunity, activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, as well as salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-mediated defense signalling pathways. Ascr#18 perception increases resistance in Arabidopsis, tomato, potato and barley to viral, Bacterial, oomycete, Fungal and nematode infections. These results indicate that Plants recognize ascarosides as a conserved molecular signature of nematodes. Using small-molecule signals such as ascarosides to activate plant immune responses has potential utility to improve economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture.

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