Plants, as sessile organisms, are continuously threatened by multiple factors and therefore their profitable production depends on how they can defend themselves. We have previously reported on the characterization of mutants which are more tolerant to environmental stresses due to the activation of defense mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that in mutants, which accumulate moderate levels of salicylic acid (SA) and have SA signaling activated, pathogen infection is restricted. Also, we demonstrate that NPR1 is essential in mutants for SA storage and defense activation but not for SA synthesis after () infection. Additionally, these mutants do not appear to be metabolically impared, resulting in a higher see... More
Plants, as sessile organisms, are continuously threatened by multiple factors and therefore their profitable production depends on how they can defend themselves. We have previously reported on the characterization of mutants which are more tolerant to environmental stresses due to the activation of defense mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that in mutants, which accumulate moderate levels of salicylic acid (SA) and have SA signaling activated, pathogen infection is restricted. Also, we demonstrate that NPR1 is essential in mutants for SA storage and defense activation but not for SA synthesis after () infection. Additionally, these mutants do not appear to be metabolically impared, resulting in a higher seed set even after pathogen attack. The FITNESS transcriptional network includes defense-related transcription factors (TFs) such as , , and as well as jasmonic acid (JA) related genes including , () and . Induction of expression leads to downregulation, and to and upregulation. As COI1 is an essential component of the bioactive JA perception apparatus and is required for most JA-signaling processes, elevated expression leads to modulated JA-related responses. Taken together, FITNESS plays a crucial role during pathogen attack and allows a cost-efficient way to prevent undesirable developmental effects.
