Molecular dissection of zinc-mediated immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Zinc is an essential micronutrient at low concentrations, yet it becomes toxic at slightly higher ones. This is exploited by plants as an effective defensive strategy. However, the molecular components that are involved zinc-mediated immunity remain poorly defined. Here, we show that mixed-linked {beta}-1,3/1,4-glucans naturally occurring in microbial and grass cell walls and used as an agrobiological solution, trigger zinc accumulation in the Arabidopsis apoplast and upregulate the expression of the zinc transporters HMA2 and HMA4. This response occurs independently of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene-mediated signalling pathways, but it requires the LysM receptor kinases CERK1, LYK4 and LYK5, indicating a specific pattern triggered immunity-associated mechanism. We further demonstrate that hma2hma4 mutants display constitutive activation of a broad set of defence-related genes, yet this transcriptional reprogramming is insufficient to confer resistance against the necrotrophic fungus Plectosphaerella cucumerina BMM. Moreover, metabolomic profiling highlights the contribution of specialized metabolites to this defective defence output. Altogether, our findings reveal that zinc-mediated toxicity constitutes a defence mechanism integrated into the immune response triggered by specific microbial or damage associated molecular patterns.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{escudero2026molecular,
  title = {{Molecular dissection of zinc-mediated immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana}},
  author = {V. Escudero and C. V. Hoang and A. Garcia-Molina and A. De and A. M. Armas and D. Brueckner and D. Ferreira Sanchez and C. Bueschl and M. Doppler and A. van der Ent and R. Schuhmacher and M. Gonzalez-Guerrero and L. Jorda},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.08.28.747889},
  url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747889v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Molecular dissection of zinc-mediated immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
AU  - V. Escudero
AU  - C. V. Hoang
AU  - A. Garcia-Molina
AU  - A. De
AU  - A. M. Armas
AU  - D. Brueckner
AU  - D. Ferreira Sanchez
AU  - C. Bueschl
AU  - M. Doppler
AU  - A. van der Ent
AU  - R. Schuhmacher
AU  - M. Gonzalez-Guerrero
AU  - L. Jorda
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/28
PB  - bioRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.08.28.747889
UR  - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747889v1
AB  - Zinc is an essential micronutrient at low concentrations, yet it becomes toxic at slightly higher ones. This is exploited by plants as an effective defensive strategy. However, the molecular components that are involved zinc-mediated immunity remain poorly defined. Here, we show that mixed-linked {beta}-1,3/1,4-glucans naturally occurring in microbial and grass cell walls and used as an agrobiological solution, trigger zinc accumulation in the Arabidopsis apoplast and upregulate the expression of the zinc transporters HMA2 and HMA4. This response occurs independently of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene-mediated signalling pathways, but it requires the LysM receptor kinases CERK1, LYK4 and LYK5, indicating a specific pattern triggered immunity-associated mechanism. We further demonstrate that hma2hma4 mutants display constitutive activation of a broad set of defence-related genes, yet this transcriptional reprogramming is insufficient to confer resistance against the necrotrophic fungus Plectosphaerella cucumerina BMM. Moreover, metabolomic profiling highlights the contribution of specialized metabolites to this defective defence output. Altogether, our findings reveal that zinc-mediated toxicity constitutes a defence mechanism integrated into the immune response triggered by specific microbial or damage associated molecular patterns.
ER  -

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