TY - JOUR
T1 - Trojan horse strategy in Agrobacterium transformation
T2 - Abusing MAPK defense signaling
AU - Djamei, Armin
AU - Pitzschke, Andrea
AU - Nakagami, Hirofumi
AU - Rajh, Iva
AU - Hirt, Heribert
PY - 2007/10/19
Y1 - 2007/10/19
N2 - Nuclear import of transfer DNA (T-DNA) is a central event in Agrobacterium transformation of plant cells and is thought to occur by the hijacking of certain host cell proteins. The T-DNA - associated virulence protein VirE2 mediates this process by binding to the nuclear import machinery via the host cell factor VIP1, whose role in plants has been so far unknown. Here we show that VIP1 is a transcription factor that is a direct target of the Agrobacterium-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) MPK3. Upon phosphorylation by MPK3, VIP1 relocalizes from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and regulates the expression of the PR1 pathogenesis-related gene. MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of VIP1 is necessary for VIP1-mediated Agrobacterium T-DNA transfer, indicating that Agrobacterium abuses the MAPK-targeted VIP1 defense signaling pathway for nuclear delivery of the T-DNA complex as a Trojan horse.
AB - Nuclear import of transfer DNA (T-DNA) is a central event in Agrobacterium transformation of plant cells and is thought to occur by the hijacking of certain host cell proteins. The T-DNA - associated virulence protein VirE2 mediates this process by binding to the nuclear import machinery via the host cell factor VIP1, whose role in plants has been so far unknown. Here we show that VIP1 is a transcription factor that is a direct target of the Agrobacterium-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) MPK3. Upon phosphorylation by MPK3, VIP1 relocalizes from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and regulates the expression of the PR1 pathogenesis-related gene. MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of VIP1 is necessary for VIP1-mediated Agrobacterium T-DNA transfer, indicating that Agrobacterium abuses the MAPK-targeted VIP1 defense signaling pathway for nuclear delivery of the T-DNA complex as a Trojan horse.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=35348977170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1148110
DO - 10.1126/science.1148110
M3 - Article
C2 - 17947581
AN - SCOPUS:35348977170
VL - 318
SP - 453
EP - 456
JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)
JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5849
ER -