Nucleolar GTP-Binding Protein 1-2 (NOG1-2) Interacts with Jasmonate-ZIMDomain Protein 9 (JAZ9) to Regulate Stomatal Aperture during Plant Immunity

• Main Authors: Seonghee Lee, Clemencia M. Rojas, Sunhee Oh, Miyoung Kang, Swarup Roy Choudhury, Hee-Kyung Lee, Randy D. Allen, Sona Pandey, Kirankumar S. Mysore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: Arabidopsis; guard cell; non-adapted pathogen; GTPase; coronatine; NOG1; Jasmonate-ZIM-domain protein 9 (JAZ9)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/7/1922

Plant defense responses at stomata and apoplast are the most important early events during plant–bacteria interactions. The key components of stomatal defense responses have not been fully characterized. A GTPase encoding gene, NOG1-2, which is required for stomatal innate immunity against bacterial pathogens, was recently identified. Functional studies in Arabidopsis revealed that NOG1-2 regulates guard cell signaling in response to biotic and abiotic stimulus through jasmonic acid (JA)- and abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated pathways. Interestingly, in this study, Jasmonate-ZIM-domain protein 9 (JAZ9) was identified to interact with NOG1-2 for the regulation of stomatal closure. Upon interaction, JAZ9 reduces GTPase activity of NOG1-2. We explored the role of NOG1-2 binding with JAZ9 for COI1-mediated JA signaling and hypothesized that its function may be closely linked to MYC2 transcription factor in the regulation of the JA-signaling cascade in stomatal defense against bacterial pathogens. Our study provides valuable information on the function of a small GTPase, NOG1-2, in guard cell signaling and early plant defense in response to bacterial pathogens.