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Identification of Novel Regulators of Plant Transpiration by Large-Scale Thermal Imaging Screening in Helianthus Annuus
Published on: January 30, 2020
Acetate-mediated novel survival strategy against drought in plants
Jong-Myong Kim1,2, Taiko Kim To3, Akihiro Matsui1
1Plant Genomic Network Research Team, RIKEN Centre for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.
Abstract:
Water deficit caused by global climate changes seriously endangers the survival of organisms and crop productivity, and increases environmental deterioration1,2. Plants' resistance to drought involves global reprogramming of transcription, cellular metabolism, hormone signalling and chromatin modification3-8. However, how these regulatory responses are coordinated via the various pathways, and the underlying mechanisms, are largely unknown. Herein, we report an essential drought-responsive network in which plants trigger a dynamic metabolic flux conversion from glycolysis into acetate synthesis to stimulate the jasmonate (JA) signalling pathway to confer drought tolerance. In Arabidopsis, the ON/OFF switching of this whole network is directly dependent on histone deacetylase HDA6. In addition, exogenous acetic acid promotes de novo JA synthesis and enrichment of histone H4 acetylation, which influences the priming of the JA signalling pathway for plant drought tolerance. This novel acetate function is evolutionarily conserved as a survival strategy against environmental changes in plants. Furthermore, the external application of acetic acid successfully enhanced the drought tolerance in Arabidopsis, rapeseed, maize, rice and wheat plants. Our findings highlight a radically new survival strategy that exploits an epigenetic switch of metabolic flux conversion and hormone signalling by which plants adapt to drought.
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