Alerted Defense System Attenuates Hypersensitive Response-Associated Cell Death in Arabidopsis siz1 Mutant

Plants defend themselves by inducing sophisticated multilevel defense responses against pathogenic attack. The first line of defense against microbial pathogens is the process of nonself-recognition, which mediates the activation of the necessary defense repertoire. The hypersensitive response (HR), a macroscopic collapse of plant leaves in primary infection site, is one of such plant resistance responses. Subsequently, the HR triggers a general resistance mechanism called systemic acquired resistance (SAR), rendering uninfected parts of the plants less sensitive to further pathogenic attacks. Here, we show that SIZ1 mutation-mediated preexisting SAR attenuates HR-associated cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana. In siz1 mutant, the amount of PR1 and PR5 stayed high level, and the growth of pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Pma) strain M6CΔE was reduced. Early callose deposition, spontaneous formation of microscopic cell death, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were also observed in siz1 mutant.