Biology subjects

Ngou, B. P. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Ngou, B. P. M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Chromatin accessibility landscapes activated by cell surface and intracellular immune receptors

Activation of cell Surface and Intracellular Receptor-Mediated Immunity (SRMI and IRMI) results in rapid transcriptional reprogramming that underpins disease resistance. However, the mechanisms by which SRMI and IRMI lead to transcriptional changes are not clear. Here, we combine RNA-seq and ATAC-seq to define changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility; both SRMI and IRMI increase chromatin accessibility at induced defense genes. Analysis of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data combined with publicly available information on transcription factor DNA-binding motifs enabled comparison of individual gene regulatory networks activated by SRMI and IRMI, and by both. These results and analyses reveal overlapping and conserved transcriptional regulatory mechanism between the two immune systems.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mutual Potentiation of Plant Immunity by Cell-surface and Intracellular Receptors

The plant immune system involves cell-surface receptors that detect intercellular pathogen-derived molecules, and intracellular receptors that activate immunity upon detection of pathogen-secreted effectors that act inside the plant cell. Surface receptor-mediated immunity has been extensively studied but in authentic interactions between plants and microbial pathogens, its presence impedes study of intracellular receptor-mediated immunity alone. How these two immune pathways interact is poorly understood. Here, we reveal mutual potentiation between these two recognition-dependent defense pathways. Recognition by surface receptors activates multiple protein kinases and NADPH oxidases, whereas intracellular receptors primarily elevate abundance of these proteins. Reciprocally, the intracellular receptor-dependent hypersensitive cell death response is strongly enhanced by activation of surface receptors. Activation of either immune system alone is insufficient to provide effective resistance against Pseudomonas syringae. Thus, immune pathways activated by cell-surface and intracellular receptors mutually potentiate to activate strong defense that thwarts pathogens. By studying the activation of intracellular receptors in the absence of surface receptor-mediated immunity, we have dissected the relationship between the two distinct immune systems. These findings reshape our understanding of plant immunity and have broad implications for crop improvement.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

High-resolution Expression Profiling of Selected Gene Sets during Plant Immune Activation

Sequence capture followed by next-generation sequencing has broad applications in cost-effective exploration of biological processes at high resolution [1, 2]. Genome-wide RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) over a time course can reveal the dynamics of differential gene expression. However, in many cases, only a limited set of genes are of interest, and are repeatedly used as markers for certain biological processes. Sequence capture can help generate high-resolution quantitative datasets to assess changes in abundance of selected genes. We previously used sequence capture to accelerate Resistance gene cloning [1, 3, 4], investigate immune receptor gene diversity [5] and investigate pathogen diversity and evolution [6, 7].\n\nThe plant immune system involves detection of pathogens via both cell-surface and intracellular receptors. Both receptor classes can induce transcriptional reprogramming that elevates disease resistance [8]. To assess differential gene expression during plant immunity, we developed and deployed quantitative sequence capture (CAP-I). We designed and synthesized biotinylated single-strand RNA bait libraries targeted to a subset of defense genes, and generated sequence capture data from 99 RNA-seq libraries. We built a data processing pipeline to quantify the RNA-CAP-I-seq data, and visualize differential gene expression. Sequence capture in combination with quantitative RNA-seq enabled cost-effective assessment of the expression profile of a specified subset of genes. Quantitative sequence capture is not limited to RNA-seq or any specific organism and can potentially be incorporated into automated platforms for high-throughput sequencing.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Estradiol-inducible AvrRps4 expression reveals distinct properties of TIR-NLR-mediated effector-triggered immunity

Plant nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR) proteins play important roles in recognition of pathogen-derived effectors. However, the mechanism by which plant NLRs activate immunity is still largely unknown. The paired Arabidopsis NLRs RRS1-R and RPS4, that confer recognition of bacterial effectors AvrRps4 and PopP2, are well studied, but how the RRS1/RPS4 complex activates early immediate downstream responses upon effector detection is still poorly understood. To study RRS1/RPS4 responses without the influence of cell-surface receptor immune pathways, we generated an Arabidopsis line with inducible expression of effector AvrRps4. Induction does not lead to hypersensitive cell death response (HR) but can induce electrolyte leakage, which often correlates with plant cell death. Activation of RRS1 and RPS4 without pathogens cannot activate mitogen-associated protein kinase cascades, but still activates upregulation of defense genes, and therefore resistance against bacteria.\n\nHighlightInducible expression of AvrRps4 activates RRS1/RPS4-mediated effector-triggered immunity without the presence of pathogens, allowing us to characterise downstream immune responses triggered by TIR-NLRs without cell-surface receptor-mediated immunity.

plant biology↗