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Nicotiana attenuata HSPRO (NaHSPRO) is a negative regulator of seedling growth promoted by the fungus Piriformospora indica. Homologs of NaHSPRO in Arabidopsis thaliana (i.e., AtHSPRO1 and AtHSPRO2) are known to physically interact with the AKINβγ subunit of the SnRK1 complex. To investigate whether NaHSPRO is associated with SnRK1 function during the stimulation of seedling growth by P. indica, we studied N. attenuata plants silenced in the expression of NaGAL83 (as-gal83 plants)--a gene that encodes for the regulatory β-subunit of SnRK1--and plants silenced in the expression of both NaHSPRO and NaGAL83 (ir-hspro/as-gal83 plants). The results showed that P. indica differentially stimulated the growth of both as-gal83 and ir-hspro/as-gal83 seedlings compared with control seedlings, with a magnitude similar to that observed in ir-hspro seedlings. Thus, we showed that, similar to NaHSPRO, NaGAL83 is a negative regulator of seedling growth stimulated by P. indica. We propose that the effect of NaHSPRO on seedling growth is associated with SnRK1 signaling.

Plastids are the central orchestrators of the early and late responses to wounding and herbivory in plants. This organelle houses some of the most important enzymes involved in the biogenesis of intra and extracellular signals that mediate defense responses against these stresses. Among these enzymes are the ones initiating the biosynthesis of oxylipins [e.g., jasmonic acid (JA) and C(6) volatiles], terpenoid volatiles and phenolic compounds, including both volatile [e.g., methylsalicylate (MeSA)] and non-volatile compounds [e.g., salicylic acid (SA)]. Plastids also play a major role in orchestrating changes in primary metabolism during herbivory and thereby in the reallocation of carbon and nitrogen to different functions in response to herbivory. How the primary stress signals generated by mechanical damage and herbivory reach the plastid to activate the rapid synthesis of these signal molecules is at present largely unknown.