Salicylic acid biosynthesis is enhanced and contributes to increased biotrophic pathogen resistance in Arabidopsis hybrids.
Abstract
Heterosis, the phenotypic superiority of a hybrid over its parents, has been demonstrated
for many traits in Arabidopsis thaliana, but its effect on defence remains largely
unexplored. Here, we show that hybrids between some A. thaliana accessions show increased
resistance to the biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst)
DC3000. Comparisons of transcriptomes between these hybrids and their parents after
inoculation reveal that several key salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis genes are significantly
upregulated in hybrids. Moreover, SA levels are higher in hybrids than in either parent.
Increased resistance to Pst DC3000 is significantly compromised in hybrids of pad4
mutants in which the SA biosynthesis pathway is blocked. Finally, increased histone
H3 acetylation of key SA biosynthesis genes correlates with their upregulation in
infected hybrids. Our data demonstrate that enhanced activation of SA biosynthesis
in A. thaliana hybrids may contribute to their increased resistance to a biotrophic
bacterial pathogen.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10360Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/ncomms8309Publication Info
Yang, Li; Li, Bosheng; Zheng, Xiao-yu; Li, Jigang; Yang, Mei; Dong, Xinnian; ... Deng,
Xing Wang (2015). Salicylic acid biosynthesis is enhanced and contributes to increased biotrophic pathogen
resistance in Arabidopsis hybrids. Nat Commun, 6. pp. 7309. 10.1038/ncomms8309. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10360.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Xinnian Dong
Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Biology
Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model
system, my
laboratory studies the
mechanisms of plant defense
against microbial pathogens. We
focus on a specific
response known as systemic
acquired resistance (SAR).
SAR, which can be induced by a
local infection, provides
the plants with long lasting,
systemic resistance against
a broad spectrum of pathogens.
Salicylic acid (SA; a

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