Calmodulin-like proteins from Arabidopsis and tomato are involved in host defense against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato

Abstract

Complex signal transduction pathways underlie the myriad plant responses to attack by pathogens. Ca(2+) is a universal second messenger in eukaryotes that modulates various signal transduction pathways through stimulus-specific changes in its intracellular concentration. Ca(2+)-binding proteins such as calmodulin (CaM) detect Ca(2+) signals and regulate downstream targets as part of a coordinated cellular response to a given stimulus. Here we report the characterization of a tomato gene (APR134) encoding a CaM-related protein that is induced in disease-resistant leaves in response to attack by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. We show that suppression of APR134 gene expression in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), compromises the plant's immune response. We isolated APR134-like genes from Arabidopsis, termed CML42 and CML43, to investigate whether they serve a functionally similar role. Gene expression analysis revealed that CML43 is rapidly induced in disease-resistant Arabidopsis leaves following inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Overexpression of CML43 in Arabidopsis accelerated the hypersensitive response. Recombinant APR134, CML42, and CML43 proteins all bind Ca(2+ )in vitro. Collectively, our data support a role for CML43, and APR134 as important mediators of Ca(2+)-dependent signals during the plant immune response to bacterial pathogens.