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Poster

Session: Session 2 Presenting Authors at Posters (Evens)

P-398 - Bet-hedging in plant immunity: Pep receptors facilitate prioritization of defense or growth under phosphate deficiency

Thursday, July 17, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Plant Regulation of biotic and abiotic stress – trade-offs

    Presenting Author(s)

  • NT

    Natsuki Tsuchida

    Nara Institute of Science and Technology
    Ikoma-shi, JAPAN

    • Author(s)

  • ML

    Maxmilyand Leiwakabessy

    Nara Institute of Science and Technology
    Ikoma, Nara, Japan

  • KY

    Kota Yamashita

    BASE, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
    Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

  • TU

    Taishi Umezawa

    BASE, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
    Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

  • YS

    Yusuke Saijo

    Professor
    Nara Institute of Science and Technology
    Ikoma, Nara, Japan

Under phosphate (Pi) limitation, plants activate the Pi-starvation response (PSR) and establish mutualistic interactions with microbes to enhance Pi acquisition, while also mounting pathogen resistance through poorly understood mechanisms. In Arabidopsis thaliana, damage-inducible Pep peptides, perceived by the leucine rich repeat receptor kinases PEPR1/PEPR2, activate defense signaling and pathogen resistance. Here, we show that Pep1-induced defense responses, but not those triggered by bacterial flagellin or fungal chitin, are sensitized in Pi-deprived seedlings, indicating functional diversification of pattern recognition receptors under nutrient deficiency. This Pep-induced defense sensitization depends on root iron accumulation, facilitated by ferroxidases under Pi deficiency, and is consistent with effective Pep-induced pathogen resistance in plants grown in nutrient-deficient soils. Notably, PSR-related gene induction under Pi deficiency is diminished in non-elicited pepr1 pepr2 plants, revealing an unexpected role for PSR beyond immunity. Further analyses suggest that PEPRs integrate both immune and nutrient responses, with a novel molecular mechanism in allowing ligand-dependent switching between these functions. The dual role of PEPRs may serve as a bet-hedging strategy, enabling plants to prioritize either growth or defense depending on environmental conditions during adaptation to Pi deficiency.