Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana

There is an increasing need to find sustainable alternatives to conventional agrochemicals to reduce biotic stress in crops. One possible strategy is based on promoting the innate defences of plants by stimulating their immune system. The plant immune system relies on the perception of molecules, wh...

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Main Authors: Jorge Peláez, Carlos Frey, Diego Rebaque, Francisco Vilaplana, Antonio Encina, Hugo Mélida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Plant Stress
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X2500048X
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author Jorge Peláez
Carlos Frey
Diego Rebaque
Francisco Vilaplana
Antonio Encina
Hugo Mélida
author_facet Jorge Peláez
Carlos Frey
Diego Rebaque
Francisco Vilaplana
Antonio Encina
Hugo Mélida
author_sort Jorge Peláez
collection DOAJ
description There is an increasing need to find sustainable alternatives to conventional agrochemicals to reduce biotic stress in crops. One possible strategy is based on promoting the innate defences of plants by stimulating their immune system. The plant immune system relies on the perception of molecules, which trigger a cascade of biochemical responses known as pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). This study investigated the potential of marine macroalgal cell wall components to be perceived by plants, act as elicitors of plant immune responses and induce disease resistance.Cell walls of green, red, and brown algae species were chemically fractionated, and the research focused on testing their ability to induce immune responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Different PTI hallmarks were tested, including H2O2 production, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) phosphorylation, and defence gene expression analysis. The results showed that the CaCl2-extracted fraction was particularly efficacious in inducing H2O2 production. As the CaCl2 fraction of all phylogenetic groups also triggered additional immune responses, its ability to protect Arabidopsis against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae was evaluated, confirming that certain CaCl2 fractions successfully provided resistance to the pathogen. The monosaccharide and glycosidic linkage analysis of these fractions pointed to some specific algal cell wall glycans (e.g. porphyrans and fucoidans) that could contribute to the immunostimulatory capacity, thereby paving the way for the identification of distinct structures with potential agrobiological applications.
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spelling doaj-art-0f7dc5a3394c40ec933bb6a6d7678d082025-08-20T02:56:33ZengElsevierPlant Stress2667-064X2025-03-011510078310.1016/j.stress.2025.100783Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thalianaJorge Peláez0Carlos Frey1Diego Rebaque2Francisco Vilaplana3Antonio Encina4Hugo Mélida5Área de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain; Instituto de Biología Molecular, Genómica y Proteómica (INBIOMIC), Universidad de León, León, SpainÁrea de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain; Instituto de Biología Molecular, Genómica y Proteómica (INBIOMIC), Universidad de León, León, SpainÁrea de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain; Division of Glycoscience, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, SwedenDivision of Glycoscience, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, SwedenÁrea de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain; Instituto de Biología Molecular, Genómica y Proteómica (INBIOMIC), Universidad de León, León, SpainÁrea de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain; Instituto de Biología Molecular, Genómica y Proteómica (INBIOMIC), Universidad de León, León, Spain; Corresponding author at: Área de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de León, León, Spain.There is an increasing need to find sustainable alternatives to conventional agrochemicals to reduce biotic stress in crops. One possible strategy is based on promoting the innate defences of plants by stimulating their immune system. The plant immune system relies on the perception of molecules, which trigger a cascade of biochemical responses known as pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). This study investigated the potential of marine macroalgal cell wall components to be perceived by plants, act as elicitors of plant immune responses and induce disease resistance.Cell walls of green, red, and brown algae species were chemically fractionated, and the research focused on testing their ability to induce immune responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Different PTI hallmarks were tested, including H2O2 production, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) phosphorylation, and defence gene expression analysis. The results showed that the CaCl2-extracted fraction was particularly efficacious in inducing H2O2 production. As the CaCl2 fraction of all phylogenetic groups also triggered additional immune responses, its ability to protect Arabidopsis against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae was evaluated, confirming that certain CaCl2 fractions successfully provided resistance to the pathogen. The monosaccharide and glycosidic linkage analysis of these fractions pointed to some specific algal cell wall glycans (e.g. porphyrans and fucoidans) that could contribute to the immunostimulatory capacity, thereby paving the way for the identification of distinct structures with potential agrobiological applications.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X2500048XArabidopsisAlgaeCell wallDisease resistanceGlycanPattern-triggered immunity (PTI)
spellingShingle Jorge Peláez
Carlos Frey
Diego Rebaque
Francisco Vilaplana
Antonio Encina
Hugo Mélida
Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
Plant Stress
Arabidopsis
Algae
Cell wall
Disease resistance
Glycan
Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI)
title Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_full Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_fullStr Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_full_unstemmed Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_short Harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
title_sort harnessing macroalgal cell walls to trigger immunity in arabidopsis thaliana
topic Arabidopsis
Algae
Cell wall
Disease resistance
Glycan
Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI)
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X2500048X
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