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Title: Defense-and stress-related proteins are involved in early events related to plant-plant recognition prior to competition

Author
item BADRI, DAYAKAR - Colorado State University
item DE-LA-PENA, CLELIA - Colorado State University
item VIVANCO, JORGE - Colorado State University
item LEI, ZHENTIAN - Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc
item Manter, Daniel
item GUIMARAES, REJANE - Bio-Rad Laboratories
item SUMMER, LLOYD - Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc

Submitted to: PLoS Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/5/2012
Publication Date: 10/1/2012
Citation: Badri, D.V., De-La-Pena, C., Vivanco, J.M., Lei, Z., Manter, D.K., Guimaraes, R., Summer, L.W. 2012. Defense-and stress-related proteins are involved in early events related to plant-plant recognition prior to competition. PLoS Biology. 7:e46640.

Interpretive Summary: The mechanism whereby organisms interact and differentiate between others has been at the forefront of scientific inquiry, particularly in humans and certain animals. It is widely accepted that plants also interact, but the degree of this interaction has been constricted to competition for nutrients, water and light. In general, the biochemical mechanisms related to the ability of organisms to differentiate others has not progressed due to a lack of appropriate models that are devoid of multiple layers of complexity. In this study, we identified 128 proteins in the root exudates of Arabidopsis plants and depending upon the neighboring plant the root exudation profiles changed, such that a fewer number, but greater amount, of defense-related proteins were secreted. These data suggest that plants can sense and respond to the presence of different plant neighbors and that the level of relatedness is perceived upon initial interaction. Furthermore, the role of defense- and stress-related proteins widely involved in plant-microbe associations and abiotic responses warrants reassessment for plant-plant interactions.

Technical Abstract: The mechanism whereby organisms interact and differentiate between others has been at the forefront of scientific inquiry, particularly in humans and certain animals. It is widely accepted that plants also interact, but the degree of this interaction has been constricted to competition for nutrients, water and light. In general, the biochemical mechanisms related to the ability of organisms to differentiate others has not progressed due to a lack of appropriate models that are devoid of multiple layers of complexity. Here, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 ecotype (Col) was co-cultured in vitro with different neighbors [A. thaliana Ler ecotype (Ler) or Capsella rubella (Cap)] exhibiting different degrees of relatedness, and the secreted root proteins were analyzed to identify the early biochemical signals involved in plant neighbor recognition. In total, we identified 128 proteins in our proteomic analyses and categorized those proteins based on their function. In general, we observed that a greater number of defense- and stress- related proteins were secreted when our control plant, Col, was grown alone as compared to when it was co-cultured with another homozygous individual (Col-Col) or with a different individual (Col-Ler and Col-Cap). However, the total amount of defense proteins in the exudates of the co-cultures was higher than in the plant alone. The opposite pattern of expression was unraveled for stress-related proteins. These data suggest that plants can sense and respond to the presence of different plant neighbors and that the level of relatedness is perceived upon initial interaction. Furthermore, the role of defense- and stress-related proteins widely involved in plant-microbe associations and abiotic responses warrants reassessment for plant-plant interactions.