A Plant miRNA Contributes to Antibacterial Resistance by Repressing Auxin Signaling

Abstract

Plants and animals activate defenses after perceiving pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) such as bacterial flagellin. In Arabidopsis , perception of flagellin increases resistance to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae , although the molecular mechanisms involved remain elusive. Here, we show that a flagellin-derived peptide induces a plant microRNA (miRNA) that negatively regulates messenger RNAs for the F-box auxin receptors TIR1, AFB2, and AFB3. Repression of auxin signaling restricts P. syringae growth, implicating auxin in disease susceptibility and miRNA-mediated suppression of auxin signaling in resistance.