Altering cold-regulated gene expression decouples the salicylic acid-growth trade-off in Arabidopsis
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-26-2024
Abstract
In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), overproduction of salicylic acid (SA) increases disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance but penalizes growth. This growth-defense trade-off has hindered the adoption of SA-based disease management strategies in agriculture. However, investigation of how SA inhibits plant growth has been challenging because many SA-hyperaccumulating Arabidopsis mutants have developmental defects due to the pleiotropic effects of the underlying genes. Here, we heterologously expressed a bacterial SA synthase gene in Arabidopsis and observed that elevated SA levels decreased plant growth and reduced the expression of cold-regulated (COR) genes in a dose-dependent manner. Growth suppression was exacerbated at below-ambient temperatures. Severing the SA-responsiveness of individual COR genes was sufficient to overcome the growth inhibition caused by elevated SA at ambient and below-ambient temperatures while preserving disease- and abiotic-stress-related benefits. Our results show the potential of decoupling SA-mediated growth and defense trade-offs for improving crop productivity.
Publication Title
The Plant cell
Recommended Citation
Ortega, M. A.,
Celoy, R. M.,
Chacon, F.,
Yuan, Y.,
Xue, L.,
Pandey, S. P.,
Drowns, M. R.,
Kvitko, B. H.,
&
Tsai, C.
(2024).
Altering cold-regulated gene expression decouples the salicylic acid-growth trade-off in Arabidopsis.
The Plant cell.
http://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae210
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/969