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An incoherent feed‐forward loop mediates robustness and tunability in a plant immune network
Author(s) -
Mine Akira,
Nobori Tatsuya,
SalazarRondon Maria C,
Winkelmüller Thomas M,
Anver Shajahan,
Becker Dieter,
Tsuda Kenichi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.15252/embr.201643051
Subject(s) - robustness (evolution) , immune system , feedback loop , biology , computer science , microbiology and biotechnology , loop (graph theory) , biological system , control theory (sociology) , physics , computational biology , biochemical engineering , genetics , mathematics , gene , artificial intelligence , engineering , computer security , control (management) , combinatorics
Immune signaling networks must be tunable to alleviate fitness costs associated with immunity and, at the same time, robust against pathogen interferences. How these properties mechanistically emerge in plant immune signaling networks is poorly understood. Here, we discovered a molecular mechanism by which the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana achieves robust and tunable immunity triggered by the microbe‐associated molecular pattern, flg22. Salicylic acid ( SA ) is a major plant immune signal molecule. Another signal molecule jasmonate ( JA ) induced expression of a gene essential for SA accumulation, EDS 5 . Paradoxically, JA inhibited expression of PAD 4 , a positive regulator of EDS 5 expression. This incoherent type‐4 feed‐forward loop (I4‐ FFL ) enabled JA to mitigate SA accumulation in the intact network but to support it under perturbation of PAD 4, thereby minimizing the negative impact of SA on fitness as well as conferring robust SA ‐mediated immunity. We also present evidence for evolutionary conservation of these gene regulations in the family Brassicaceae . Our results highlight an I4‐ FFL that simultaneously provides the immune network with robustness and tunability in A. thaliana and possibly in its relatives.