Root Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana Is Regulated by Ethylene and Abscisic Acid Signaling Interaction in Response to HrpNEa, a Bacterial Protein of Harpin Group

HrpN(Ea) is a harpin protein from Erwinia amylovora, a bacterial pathogen that causes fire blight in rosaceous plants. Treating plants with HrpN(Ea) stimulates ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) to induce plant growth and drought tolerance, respectively. Herein, we report that both growth hormones cooperate to mediate the role of HrpNEa in promoting root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Root growth is promoted coordinately with elevation in levels of ABA and ethylene subsequent to soaking of germinating seeds of wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis in a solution of HrpN(Ea). However, these responses are arrested by inhibiting WT roots from synthesizing ethylene as well as sensing of ABA and ethylene. The effects of HrpNEa on roots are also nullified in ethylene-insensitive etr1-1 and ein5-1 mutants and in the ABA-insensitive mutant abi2-1 of Arabidopsis. These results provide evidence for presence of a relationship between root growth enhancement and signaling by ABA and ethylene in response to HrpN(Ea). Nevertheless, when HrpN(Ea) is applied to leaves, ethylene signaling is active in the absence of ABA signaling to promote plant growth. This suggests the presence of a different signaling mechanism in leaves from that in roots.