2023-10-13 10:57:48
Title: Plant Stem Cells Use Salicylic Acid and RNA Interference for Antiviral Immunity, Study Finds
Date: October 12, 2022
Vienna (OTS) – A recent study conducted by researchers at the Gregor Mendel Institute for Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) has revealed that plant stem cells possess a unique defense mechanism against viral infections. The study, published on October 12 in the journal PNAS, demonstrates that the production of salicylic acid and activation of RNA interference play crucial roles in protecting stem cells from viral invasion.
Plant viruses pose a significant threat to agriculture and global food security. Once infected, viruses can often take over an entire plant. However, a small group of cells within the shoot tip of plants, known as stem cells, exhibit remarkable resistance to viral infections. Stem cells give rise to above-ground plant tissue and future generations of plants.
To unravel the molecular basis of virus defense in stem cells, Marco Incarbone, a former postdoctoral researcher at GMI and now group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, along with doctoral student Gabriele Bradamante and their team, employed high-throughput microscopy techniques. The scientists used Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant, and the Turnip Mosaic virus as their experimental system.
The researchers observed that the Turnip Mosaic virus managed to reach the stem cells in the shoot tip of Arabidopsis, but it was quickly expelled. Through targeted experiments, the team discovered that the production of salicylic acid is activated during viral infection. Salicylic acid serves as an alarm signal, triggering further defense mechanisms in the plant.
In turn, salicylic acid activates RDR1, a key factor in enhancing RNA interference. RDR1 amplifies the production of double-stranded RNA from viral RNA, providing plant cells with more virus-specific sequences. This leads the defense mechanism to target and eliminate the invading virus.
While RDR1 is not produced in the stem cells themselves, it is generated in the underlying tissue. This RNA-based information is believed to immunize the stem cells against the virus. The researchers are now working to understand how and when the production of salicylic acid is increased during infection.
The study also found that the antiviral defense mechanism involving salicylic acid and RDR1 is specific to the Turnip Mosaic virus. Different viruses may activate these mechanisms to varying degrees. However, RNA interference is consistently crucial for protecting stem cells from infection.
Despite the robust defense response observed in stem cells, scientists are still puzzled as to why plant viruses can suppress RNA interference throughout most of the plant, but not in these specific cells. Further investigations will focus on understanding how viruses are prevented from infecting the offspring of a plant, which develop from the protected stem cells.
The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the workings of stem cell antiviral defense and establish a molecular framework that can guide future research in this field.
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About the Gregor Mendel Institute for Molecular Plant Biology (GMI):
The Gregor Mendel Institute for Molecular Plant Biology, a research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, is dedicated to advancing molecular plant biology. Their research spans various areas, including epigenetics, cell biology, plant-pathogen interactions, developmental biology, and population genetics. The GMI is located at the Vienna BioCenter, one of the premier life science hubs in Europe.]
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