The MPK6 target AtDEK2, a chromatin remodeler, modulates transcription of immune-related genes and governs plant immunity
The activation of immune Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) is one of the earliest cellular responses following pathogen attack leading to the phosphorylation of appropriate cytosolic or nuclear targets to regulate cellular processes. In this work, we show that the Arabidopsis nuclear protein DEK2 is a target of MPK6 and regulator of plant defense against bacterial and fungal plant pathogens. Transcriptomic analysis unveils that AtDEK2 modulates transcription of defense-related genes, as well as genes associated with hormone synthesis and signaling. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) analysis reveals that DEK2 potentially binds to TGGGC(C/T) motifs of ZNF, bZIP, WRKY and TCP transcription factors. DEK2 orchestrates diverse chromatin-related processes. Our findings suggest that DEK2 is recruited to specific chromatin regions by transcription factors and functions as a reader of the bivalent histone mark H3K4me3K27me3.
Authors
- Aala A. Abulfaraj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5833-2495)
- Delphine Pflieger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2122-3900)
- Naganand Rayapuram (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-3735)
- Fatimah Aljedaani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1736-927X)
- Hanna Alhoraibi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6535-5887)
- Fatimah Abdulhakim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8557-0955)
- David Latrasse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2149-0128)
- Jean Bigeard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4762-8423)
- Wolfgang Fischle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2335-8932)
- Stefan T. Arold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5278-0668)
- Jean Colcombet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0176-3857)
- Daniel Schubert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2390-0733)
- Olga Artyukh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8661-8933)
- Kiruthiga Mariappan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0831-8756)
- Léa Faivre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-8757)
- Ikram Blilou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8003-3782)
- Santiago Alejandro-Martinez
- Siba Alharbi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5476-8045)
- Marilia Almeida-Trapp
- Xiaoning He
- Moussa Benhamed
- Papita Mandal
- Stephan David
- Heribert Hirt
- Deborah Manza
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- King Abdulaziz University (SA)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Max Perutz Labs (AT)
- CEA Grenoble (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Institut des Sciences des Plantes de Paris Saclay (FR)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Discover Immunity.
- Published
- 2026-03-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s44368-026-00022-1
- Primary Topic
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology