THE CHROMATIN REMODELER MOM1 AND THE IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY IN PLANTS

PEPPINO MARGUTTI, M.; CECCHINI, NM; LESCANO, IGNACIO; MIRANDA DE LA TORRE, JULIAN; ALVAREZ, ME

Virtual

Congreso; SAIB-SAMIGE 2021; 2021

saib-samige

After the recognition of a pathogen, plants do not only induce local defense responses but also a long-lasting and broad-spectrum systemic resistance usually characterized by a plant alertness or priming ("immunological memory"). Regardless of not showing constitutive defenses, a primed plant triggers a more efficient response to recurrent infections. Immunological memory might require epigenetic modifications for a predisposition to a rapid and/or strong transcriptional activation of defense genes. Recently, we proposed that the chromatin remodeler "Morpheus´molecule 1" (MOM1) is a priming factor in Arabidopsis. Here, we analyzed the involvement of MOM1 in the establishment of the immunological memory caused by chemical and biological inducers. We found that mom1 is more susceptible to the priming inducers azelaic acid (AZA), pipecolic acid (PIP), aminobutyric acid (BABA) and, moreover, to the rhizobacteria Pseudomonas simiae WCS417. In agreement, AZA, PIP and BABA soil treatments decreased the systemic MOM1 transcript levels in wild-type plants. Furthermore, transgenic plants that express a minimal version of MOM1 (mini-MOM1) show an impaired systemic resistance against pathogens. Together, our results strongly suggest that MOM1 can control the immunological memory triggered by a wide range of different priming inducers in plants. A putative model for the role of MOM1 during this defense program(s) will be presented.