Knock-down of protein phosphatase 2A subunit B’γ promotes phosphorylation of CALRETICULIN 1 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Different types of plant pathogens may cause enormous losses in agriculture and also have an ecological impact in the nature. On molecular level, disease resistance is acquired through the action of tightly interconnected signaling pathways that may induce highly specific immune reactions in plant cells. Controlled protein dephosphorylation through protein phosphatase 2A activity is emerging as a crucial mechanism that regulates diverse signaling events in plants. PP2A is predominantly trimeric, and consists of a catalytic subunit, a scaffold subunit A, and a variable regulatory subunit B, which determines the target specificity of the PP2A holoenzyme.1 Recently, we uncovered a specific role for a regulatory subunit B’γ of PP2A as a negative regulator of immune reactions in Arabidopsis thaliana (hereafter Arabidopsis).2 Knock-down pp2a-b’γ mutants show constitutive activation of defense related genes, imbalanced antioxidant metabolism and premature disintegration of chloroplasts upon ageing. Proteomic analysis of soluble leaf extracts further revealed that the constitutive defense response in pp2a-b’γ leaves associates with increased levels of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, aconitase as well as components of the methionine-salvage pathway, suggesting PP2A-B’γ modulates methionine metabolism in leaves.