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Updated: Apr 30, 2026
08:59
Plant-Microbe Interaction: Transcriptional Response of Bacillus Mycoides to Potato Root Exudates
Published on: July 2, 2018
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Rice roots recruit Bacillus via the secretion of heptadecanoic acid
Jianguo Zeng1,2, Tao Wen1, Jing Zhao3
1Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Nature Plants
|April 28, 2026
Summary
Rice plants use a specific signaling pathway to attract beneficial Bacillus bacteria to their roots, enhancing disease resistance. This involves root secretion of heptadecanoic acid, crucial for plant immunity.
Area of Science:
- Plant Science
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Plants recruit beneficial microbes to enhance immunity.
- Molecular mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions are not fully understood.
- Rhizosphere microbiome plays a critical role in plant health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular pathway controlling Bacillus recruitment in rice.
- To investigate the role of the OsMAPK-OsWRKY pathway in plant immunity.
- To identify key molecules involved in plant-microbe communication.
Main Methods:
- Field trials and omics analyses (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics).
- Genetic analysis using loss-of-function mutants (OsMKK4, OsMPK6, OsWRKY24/53/70, OsKCS2).
- Chemical analysis of root exudates and application of heptadecanoic acid.
Main Results:
- A novel OsMAPK-OsWRKY pathway regulating Bacillus recruitment was identified.
- OsMKK4-OsMPK6 cascade activation correlates with Bacillus abundance.
- OsWRKY transcription factors activate OsKCS2, promoting heptadecanoic acid biosynthesis and Bacillus colonization.
- Heptadecanoic acid application enhanced Bacillus recruitment and rice blast resistance.
Conclusions:
- The MAPK pathway regulates heptadecanoic acid synthesis, controlling Bacillus recruitment.
- This mechanism enhances rice blast disease resistance.
- Findings provide insights into plant immune strategies and rhizosphere engineering.
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