Our first paper at NWU was published in JIPB now!

Jia, X., Xu, Z., Xu, L., Frene, J. P., Gonin, M., Wang, L., Yu, J., Castrillo, G., & Yi, K. (2024). Identification of new salicylic acid signaling regulators for root development and microbiota composition in plants. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13814

Title: Identification of new salicylic acid signaling regulators for root development and microbiota composition in plants

Authors: Xianqing Jia, Zhuang Xu, Lei Xu, Juan P. Frene, Mathieu Gonin, Long Wang, Jiahong Yu, Gabriel Castrillo, Keke Yi

Abstract: Besides playing a crucial role in plant immunity via the nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related (NPR) proteins, increasing evidence shows that salicylic acid (SA) can also regulate plant root growth. However, the transcriptional regulatory network controlling this SA response in plant roots is still unclear. Here, we found that NPR1 and WRKY45, the central regulators of SA response in rice leaves, control only a reduced sector of the root SA signaling network. We demonstrated that SA attenuates root growth via a novel NPR1/WRKY45-independent pathway. Furthermore, using regulatory network analysis and mutant characterization, we identified a set of new NPR1/WRKY45-independent regulators that conservedly modulate the root development and root-associated microbiota composition in both Oryza sativa (monocot) and Arabidopsis thaliana (dicot) in response to SA. Our results established the SA signaling as a central element regulating plant root functions under ecologically relevant conditions. These results provide new insights to understand how regulatory networks control plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses.

News: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/SjGY7Zi4z8QtqvqHmHaGJg (in Chinese)

A working model of the regulatory network controlling salicylic acid (SA)-mediated plant root growth and microbiome colonization

Salicylic acid attenuates root growth via a nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related 1 (NPR1) and WRKY45 (NW) -independent pathway, which mediates SA signaling in regulations of both root growth and microbiome colonization. The NPR1 and WRKY45-dependent regulation of SA response controls only a reduced sector of the root SA signaling network and is involved in shaping root-associated microbiome colonization.