Arabidopsis PUB2 and PUB4 connect signaling components of pattern-triggered immunity

Plants use pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and activate pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). Precise regulation of information from PRRs to downstream signaling components is vital to mounting an appropriate immune response and requires dynamic interactions of these PTI components. We used transcriptome profiling, phenotypic analysis, molecular genetics, and protein-protein interaction analysis to understand the roles of the Arabidopsis plant U-box (PUB) proteins PUB2 and PUB4 in disease resistance and PTI signaling. Loss of function of both PUB2 and PUB4 diminishes the PAMP-triggered oxidative bursts and dampens mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, resulting in a severe compromise in resistance to not only pathogenic but also nonpathogenic strains of Pseudomonas syringae. Within PUB4, the E3 ligase activity is dispensable, but the armadillo repeat region is essential and sufficient for its function in immunity. PUB2 and PUB4 interact with PTI signaling components, including FLS2, BIK1, PBL27, and RbohD, and enhance FLS2-BIK1 and BIK1-RbohD interactions. Our study reveals that PUB2 and PUB4 are critical components of plant immunity and connect PTI components to positively regulate defense responses.