Nuclear importin α1 AtIMPA1 regulates stomatal reopening to defend against Pst DC3000 by orchestrating ABA signaling.
- 1Key Laboratory of Agri-products Quality and Biosafety (Ministry of Education), Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China.
- 2Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Crop Integrated Pest Management, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China.
Abstract
Importin α family proteins serve as essential carriers for transporting specific disease-resistant proteins into the nucleus, enabling these proteins to function properly. However, whether importin α proteins are involved in plant immunity remains unclear. Here, we characterized a guard cell-expressed protein importin α1 AtIMPA1, which contributed to resistance against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). When dip-inoculated with Pst DC3000, the impa1 mutants exhibited increased susceptibility, along with significant stomatal reopening induced by the phytotoxin coronatine (COR) secreted by Pst DC3000; while overexpression of AtIMPA1 enhanced resistance to Pst DC3000 with compromised stomatal reopening induced by COR. Notably, following syringe-infiltration of Pst DC3000, the impa1 mutants showed increased resistance, whereas overexpression lines were more susceptible to Pst DC3000, indicating that COR-triggered stomatal reopening is a primary determinant in AtIMPA1-mediated disease resistance. Further investigations revealed that AtIMPA1 regulated COR-triggered stomatal reopening is linked to abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Mutation of AtIMPA1 attenuated the ABA-mediated inhibition of root length and seed germination, and disrupted the ABA-induced protein abundance and localization of the ABA-responsive protein, supporting its role in regulating the ABA response. These findings shed light on the functional significance of AtIMPA1 in COR-triggered stomatal reopening and provided new insights into how importin α proteins orchestrate ABA signaling to regulate plant immunity.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026nuclear,
title = {{Nuclear importin α1 AtIMPA1 regulates stomatal reopening to defend against Pst DC3000 by orchestrating ABA signaling.}},
author = {Ting Zhang and Kang Wang and Yi Guan and Jingao Zhang and Charles Tetteh and Chenxi Liu and Cheng Zhang and Pinyuan Jin and Sheng Luo and Yiling Wang and Huajian Zhang},
journal = {The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/tpj.71175},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958739},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nuclear importin α1 AtIMPA1 regulates stomatal reopening to defend against Pst DC3000 by orchestrating ABA signaling.
AU - Ting Zhang
AU - Kang Wang
AU - Yi Guan
AU - Jingao Zhang
AU - Charles Tetteh
AU - Chenxi Liu
AU - Cheng Zhang
AU - Pinyuan Jin
AU - Sheng Luo
AU - Yiling Wang
AU - Huajian Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology
DO - 10.1111/tpj.71175
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958739
AB - Importin α family proteins serve as essential carriers for transporting specific disease-resistant proteins into the nucleus, enabling these proteins to function properly. However, whether importin α proteins are involved in plant immunity remains unclear. Here, we characterized a guard cell-expressed protein importin α1 AtIMPA1, which contributed to resistance against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). When dip-inoculated with Pst DC3000, the impa1 mutants exhibited increased susceptibility, along with significant stomatal reopening induced by the phytotoxin coronatine (COR) secreted by Pst DC3000; while overexpression of AtIMPA1 enhanced resistance to Pst DC3000 with compromised stomatal reopening induced by COR. Notably, following syringe-infiltration of Pst DC3000, the impa1 mutants showed increased resistance, whereas overexpression lines were more susceptible to Pst DC3000, indicating that COR-triggered stomatal reopening is a primary determinant in AtIMPA1-mediated disease resistance. Further investigations revealed that AtIMPA1 regulated COR-triggered stomatal reopening is linked to abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Mutation of AtIMPA1 attenuated the ABA-mediated inhibition of root length and seed germination, and disrupted the ABA-induced protein abundance and localization of the ABA-responsive protein, supporting its role in regulating the ABA response. These findings shed light on the functional significance of AtIMPA1 in COR-triggered stomatal reopening and provided new insights into how importin α proteins orchestrate ABA signaling to regulate plant immunity.
SN - 0960-7412
SN - 1365-313X
ER -