Salicylic acid (SA) has been used for medicinal purposes for more than 3,500 years, and its derivative acetylsalicylic acid has been marketed as Aspirin. Studies in angiosperms (seed plants), particularly the model angiosperm Arabidopsis thaliana, have revealed that SA plays a crucial role in how plants defend themselves against pathogens. In A. thaliana, NPR proteins have been identified as canonical SA receptors and function as the master regulators of SA-triggered responses. These discoveries have led to efforts to exploit SA–NPR pathways to improve disease resistance in agriculture. However, the functions of NPR proteins in other plant species remain poorly characterized. We recently revealed that the single NPR gene in the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha does not function as the master regulator of SA-induced transcriptional reprogramming. This finding raises the question of whether NPR proteins are widely used as receptors mediating SA-triggered responses across plants and how important they are for plant defence against pathogens. In this talk, I will present our recent efforts to investigate NPR functions and SA responses in bryophytes and beyond.

 

※英語での発表となります。 ただし質疑応答は日本語でも可とします。

This seminar will be given in English. However, questions and answers can be in Japanese.

 

Jeon and Iwakawa et al. (2024) PMID: 39056290

 

東京大学大学院理学系研究科・生物科学専攻・遺伝学研究室