Plants regularly prioritize either growth or defense, leading to reduced growth rate when the plant is under attack. Wang et al. have identified a simple switch in rice that demonstrates this principle beautifully. The Ideal Plant Architecture 1 (IPA1) transcription factor is involved in controlling grain yield by reducing the number of unproductive tillers. The authors found that the ipa1-1D allele that confers higher grain yield also confers protection against the rice blast fungus. Fungal infection induces IPA1 phosphorylation, and the phosphorylated form of IPA1 activates a different subset of genes than unphosphorylated IPA1. This reversible phosphorylation thus directly shifts the expressed genes from those promoting growth to those promoting defense. As the authors summarize, “Changing DNA binding specificity via phosphorylation of an amino acid to nimbly control different outcomes may prove to be a widespread phenomenon.”
(Summary by Mary Williams) Science 10.1126/science.aat767
This group work on this topic....
A single transcription factor promotes both yield and immunity in rice.
Wang J1, Zhou L2, Shi H2, Chern M3, Yu H4, Yi H2, He M2, Yin J2, Zhu X2, Li Y2, Li W2, Liu J2, Wang J2, Chen X2, Qing H2, Wang Y2, Liu G4, Wang W2, Li P2, Wu X2, Zhu L4, Zhou JM4,5, Ronald PC3, Li S2, Li J6,5, Chen X1.
Author information
1 State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Key Laboratory of Major Crop Diseases and Collaborative Innovation Center for Hybrid Rice in Yangtze River Basin, Rice Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University at Wenjiang, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
2 State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Key Laboratory of Major Crop Diseases and Collaborative Innovation Center for Hybrid Rice in Yangtze River Basin, Rice Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University at Wenjiang, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
3 Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
4 State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
5 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.6State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Education
- Higher Education
- Conferences