Hydrogen peroxide modulates the dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton during the defence responses to Verticillium dahliae toxins in Arabidopsis

Abstract

The molecular mechanisms of signal transduction of plants in response to infection by Verticillium dahliae (VD) are not well understood. We previously showed that NO may act as an upstream signalling molecule to trigger the depolymerization of cortical microtubules in Arabidopsis. In the present study, we used the wild-type, and atrbohD and atrbohF mutants of Arabidopsis to explore the mechanisms of action of H2O2 signals and the dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton in defence responses. We demonstrated that H2O2 may also act as an upstream signalling molecule to regulate cortical microtubule depolymerization. The depolymerization of the cortical microtubules played a functional role in the signalling pathway to mediate the expression of defence genes. The results indicate that H2O2 modulates the dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton to trigger the expression of defence genes against V. dahliae toxins (VD-toxins) in Arabidopsis. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.