Navigating the cellular seas - Roles of vesicular trafficking in plant immunity against bacterial infection
A. HEESE (1), A. Clarke (2), C. Collins (2), E. LaMontagne (2), G. Ekenayake (2), M. Leslie (2), J. Smith (2), S. Rogers (2) (1) University of Missouri-Columbia, Div. of Biochemistry-IPG, U.S.A.; (2) University of Missouri-Columbia, Div. of Biochemistry-IPG, U.S.A.

The plasma membrane (PM) serves as a crucial contact point between a host and potential pathogens. Plant proteins at this location are required for many aspects of plant defense, from initial microbe perception to pathogen growth restriction. A complex and dynamic vesicular trafficking network (including secretion and endocytosis) is essential to ensure the correct localization and level of host components at the PM necessary for effective immune responses. As such, the Arabidopsis receptor kinase Flagellin Sensing 2 (FLS2) needs to be localized to the PM to perceive bacterial flagellin or its peptide derivative flg22 to initiate a robust immune response and contribute to immunity against bacterial infection. Overall, relatively few vesicular trafficking components have been identified with roles in FLS2 trafficking to and from the PM. Plant cells have diverse types of vesicles that differ in their protein composition functioning in cargo selection, vesicle initiation and budding from the correct donor membrane. Clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) represent one type of trafficking vesicles forming at both the PM and the Trans-Golgi Network (TGN) for intracellular cargo transport. Our lab has evidence that mutations in genes that encode for vesicular trafficking proteins involved in the formation and release of CCVs result in altered FLS2 abundance at the PM, immune signaling and immunity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. DC3000. Specific examples of ccv mutants will be discussed.

Abstract Number: C11-1
Session Type: Concurrent