<em>HR4</em> Gene Is Induced in the <em>Arabidopsis</em>-<em>Trichoderma </em><em>a</em><em>troviride</em> Beneficial Interaction

• Main Authors: Jorge Sáenz-Mata, Juan Francisco Jiménez-Bremont
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2012-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: <em></em><em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> Col-0; Ms-0; <em>HR4</em> <em>R</em> genes; <em>RPW8</em> <em>Trichoderma atroviride</em>
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/13/7/9110

Plants are constantly exposed to microbes, for this reason they have evolved sophisticated strategies to perceive and identify biotic interactions. Thus, plants have large collections of so-called resistance (R) proteins that recognize specific microbe factors as signals of invasion. One of these proteins is codified by the <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> <em>HR4</em> gene in the Col-0 ecotype that is homologous to <em>RPW8</em> genes present in the Ms-0 ecotype. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of the <em>HR4</em> gene in Arabidopsis seedlings interacting with the beneficial fungus <em>Trichoderma atroviride</em>. We observed the induction of the <em>HR4</em> gene mainly at 96 hpi when the fungus interaction was established. Furthermore, we found that the <em>HR4</em> gene was differentially regulated in interactions with the beneficial bacterium <em>Pseudomonas fluorescens</em> and the pathogenic bacterium <em>P. syringae</em>. When hormone treatments were applied to <em>A. thaliana</em> (Col-0), each hormone treatment induced changes in <em>HR4</em> gene expression. On the other hand, the expression of the <em>RPW8.1</em> and <em>RPW8.2</em> genes of Arabidopsis ecotype Ms-0 in interaction with <em>T. atroviride</em> was assessed. Interestingly, these genes are interaction-responsive; in particular, the <em>RPW8.1</em> gene shows a very high level of expression in the later stages of interaction. These results indicate that <em>HR4</em> and <em>RPW8</em> genes could play a role in the establishment of Arabidopsis interactions with beneficial microbes.<strong></strong>