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Niu, Yajie

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Niu

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Yajie

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Niu, Yajie
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.2338af04-481b-4ab0-807b-32db141d0b64

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    Pathogen-Secreted Proteases Activate a Novel Plant Immune Pathway
    (2015) Cheng, Zhenyu; Li, Jian-Feng; Niu, Yajie; Zhang, Xue-Cheng; Woody, Owen Z.; Xiong, Yan; Djonović, Slavica; Millet, Yves; Bush, Jenifer; McConkey, Brendan J.; Sheen, Jenq-Yunn; Ausubel, Frederick
    Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascades play central roles in innate immune signaling networks in plants and animals1,2. In plants, however, the molecular mechanisms of how signal perception is transduced to MAPK activation remain elusive1. We report that pathogen-secreted proteases activate a previously unknown signaling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana involving the Gα, Gβ and Gγ subunits of heterotrimeric G-protein complexes, which function upstream of a MAPK cascade. In this pathway, Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1 (RACK1) functions as a novel scaffold that binds to the Gβ subunit as well as to all three tiers of the MAPK cascade, thereby linking upstream G protein signaling to downstream activation of a MAPK cascade. The protease-G protein-RACK1-MAPK cascade modules identified in these studies are distinct from previously described plant immune signaling pathways such as the one elicited by bacterial flagellin, in which G proteins function downstream of or in parallel to a MAPK cascade without the involvement of the RACK1 scaffolding protein. The discovery of the novel protease-mediated immune signaling pathway described here was facilitated by the use of the broad host range, opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The ability of P. aeruginosa to infect both plants and animals makes it an excellent model to identify novel types of immunoregulatory strategies that account for its niche adaptation to diverse host tissues and immune systems.
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    Bifurcation of Arabidopsis NLR Immune Signaling via Ca2+-Dependent Protein Kinases
    (Public Library of Science, 2013) Gao, Xiquan; Chen, Xin; Lin, Wenwei; Chen, Sixue; Lu, Dongping; Niu, Yajie; Li, Lei; Cheng, Cheng; McCormack, Matthew; Sheen, Jenq-Yunn; Shan, Libo; He, Ping
    Nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) protein complexes sense infections and trigger robust immune responses in plants and humans. Activation of plant NLR resistance (R) proteins by pathogen effectors launches convergent immune responses, including programmed cell death (PCD), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and transcriptional reprogramming with elusive mechanisms. Functional genomic and biochemical genetic screens identified six closely related Arabidopsis Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) in mediating bifurcate immune responses activated by NLR proteins, RPS2 and RPM1. The dynamics of differential CPK1/2 activation by pathogen effectors controls the onset of cell death. Sustained CPK4/5/6/11 activation directly phosphorylates a specific subgroup of WRKY transcription factors, WRKY8/28/48, to synergistically regulate transcriptional reprogramming crucial for NLR-dependent restriction of pathogen growth, whereas CPK1/2/4/11 phosphorylate plasma membrane-resident NADPH oxidases for ROS production. Our studies delineate bifurcation of complex signaling mechanisms downstream of NLR immune sensors mediated by the myriad action of CPKs with distinct substrate specificity and subcellular dynamics.