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The transcriptome of Arabidopsis thaliana during systemic acquired resistance

Nature Genetics volume 26, pages 403–410 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Infected plants undergo transcriptional reprogramming during initiation of both local defence and systemic acquired resistance (SAR). We monitored gene-expression changes in Arabidopsis thaliana under 14 different SAR-inducing or SAR-repressing conditions using a DNA microarray representing approximately 25–30% of all A. thaliana genes. We derived groups of genes with common regulation patterns, or regulons. The regulon containing PR-1, a reliable marker gene for SAR in A. thaliana, contains known PR genes and novel genes likely to function during SAR and disease resistance. We identified a common promoter element in genes of this regulon that binds members of a plant-specific transcription factor family. Our results extend expression profiling to definition of regulatory networks and gene discovery in plants.

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Figure 1: Unrooted tree of relatedness of transcriptional changes across SAR-relevant conditions.
Figure 2: a, Clustergram of 413 ESTs differentially expressed during SAR.
Figure 3: Self-organizing map clusters of expression profiles.
Figure 4: W box motifs in PR-1 cluster genes.
Figure 5: Cis element architecture in the PR-1 cluster.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Rushton and I. Somssich for discussion; L. Friedrich, J. Levin and F. Zheng for RNA samples; A. Wiig for technical assistance; P. Epple for critical reading of the manuscript; the ABRC for EST clones; and S.Y. Rhee for calculation of average 5′ UTR lengths in A. thaliana genes. A.L. was supported by an REU supplement to NSF grant IBN-9724075 to J.L.D., and T.E. is the recipient of a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Post-doctoral Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Syngenta, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

    Klaus Maleck, Allen Morgan, Jürg Schmid, Kay A. Lawton & Robert A. Dietrich

  2. Department of Biology and Curriculum in Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , USA

    Aaron Levine, Thomas Eulgem & Jeffery L. Dangl

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  1. Klaus Maleck
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Correspondence to Jeffery L. Dangl.

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Maleck, K., Levine, A., Eulgem, T. et al. The transcriptome of Arabidopsis thaliana during systemic acquired resistance. Nat Genet 26, 403–410 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/82521

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