Engineering of a plant ribosylated nucleotide immune second messenger

  1. Steven Cheng
  2. Julian Strippel
  3. Federica Locci
  4. Alexander Mandel
  5. Maria Chalikiopoulou
  6. Christof Domnick
  7. Katharina Klupsch
  8. Tak Lee
  9. Mai Trinh Nguyen
  10. Silvina Perin
  11. Sarwar Aziz
  12. Jaqueline Bautor
  13. Stephanie Kath-Schorr
  14. Jane Parker
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Abstract

Diseases cause major losses in crop production globally. Deployment of conventional pesticides targeting microbes and pests is increasingly restricted due to environmental damage. We have developed a high-yielding chemical route to synthesize a plant immune second messenger, phospho-ribosyl-adenosine monophosphate (pRib-AMP) and engineered pRib-AMP derivatives. Using knowledge of the pRib-AMP molecular mode of action in promoting plant transcriptional defence, we performed structure-based engineering of a stabilized bioactive pRib-AMP derivative (Thio-pRib-AMP). When exogenously applied to Arabidopsis plants, pRib-AMP, and Thio-pRib-AMP with higher potency, stimulated immunity via the pRib-AMP authentic receptor and defence execution machinery, leading to reduced pathogen infection. Dose-response and transcriptome assays revealed a need to tune Thio-pRib-AMP applications for enhanced disease resistance without incurring a growth penalty in Arabidopsis , Nicotiana benthamiana and oilseed rape. This study describes a biotechnology framework for harnessing the properties of natural plant immune stimulants to generate protective agents for a broad range of crops.

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  1. Version published to 10.21203/rs.3.rs-10080789/v1 on Research Square