Jasmonate and Pathogenesis
Pseudomonas syringae causes bacterial speck disease in tomatoes by hijacking the plant’s jasmonate (JA) signaling pathway. This bacteria utilizes a type III secretion system to inject a cocktail of viral effector proteins into host cells.
One of the molecules included in this mixture is the phytotoxin coronatine (COR). JA-insensitive plants are highly resistant to P. syringae and unresponsive to COR; additionally, applying MeJA was sufficient to rescue virulence in COR mutant bacteria. Infected plants also expressed downstream JA and wound response genes but repressed levels of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. All these data suggest COR acts through the JA pathway to invade host plants. Activation of a wound response is hypothesized to come at the expense of pathogen defense. By activating the JA wound response pathway, P. syringae could divert resources from its host’s immune system and infect more effectively.
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