Brassinosteroid-regulated transcription factors confer epigenetic changes that repress plant immunity

Title data

Ramirez, Veronica E. ; Shuai, Haiwei ; Hwu, Fang-Yu ; Hazarika, Rashmi R. ; Tao, Chia-Nan ; Choi, Sera ; Piecyk, Robert S. ; Wudy, Susanne I. ; Gigl, Michael ; Bagnoli, Johannes W. ; Brajkovic, Sarah ; Albertos, Pablo ; Liang, Yuanyuan ; Keymer, Andreas ; Dawid, Corinna ; Enard, Wolfgang ; Vlot, A. Corina ; Gutjahr, Caroline ; Parniske, Martin ; Kuster, Bernhard ; Sieberer, Tobias ; Ludwig, Christina ; Zipfel, Cyril ; Ton, Jurriaan ; Johannes, Frank ; Poppenberger, Brigitte:
Brassinosteroid-regulated transcription factors confer epigenetic changes that repress plant immunity.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 123 (2026) Issue 34 . - e2532739123.
ISSN 1091-6490
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2532739123

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

When organisms encounter pathogens, they rapidly activate complex defense programs to ensure survival. While these immune responses are vital, they often also incur trade-offs, such as reduced growth and development and must therefore be tightly controlled. In this study, we reveal that the steroid hormones brassinosteroids (BRs) contribute to this control in Arabidopsis thaliana by repressing immunity-related genes. We provide evidence that the BR-regulated basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor CESTA (CES), along with its homologs BR ENHANCED EXPRESSION (BEE)1-3, mediate DNA methylation changes at transposable element (TE)-rich loci containing nucleotide-binding leucine-rich-repeat (NLR)-type receptor genes, including SUPPRESSOR OF NPR1-1 CONSTITUTIVE 1 (SNC1). These CES-induced methylation changes correlate with altered splicing of SNC1 pre-mRNA, a process that requires the BR receptor BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1). In support, we show that CES associates with components of the chromatin remodeling and splicing machinery. Together, our findings reveal a previously unrecognized BR-induced mechanism that modulates the epigenetic and post transcriptional regulation of immune genes, enabling plants to prioritize growth over defense.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition and Health Faculties > Faculty of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition and Health > Chair Crop Plant Genetics Faculties > Faculty of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition and Health > Chair Crop Plant Genetics > Chair Crop Plant Genetics - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Anna Cornelia Vlot-Schuster
Result of work at the UBT:	No
DDC Subjects:	500 Science > 500 Natural sciences 500 Science > 570 Life sciences, biology 500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2026 07:31
Last Modified:	20 Aug 2026 07:31
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/99293