Rice OsPAD4 functions differently from Arabidopsis AtPAD4 in host-pathogen interactions.

The extensively studied Arabidopsis phytoalexin deficient 4 (AtPAD4) gene plays an important role in Arabidopsis disease resistance; however, the function of its sequence ortholog in rice is unknown. Here, we show that rice OsPAD4 appears not to be the functional ortholog of AtPAD4 in host-pathogen interactions, and that the OsPAD4 encodes a plasma membrane protein but that AtPAD4 encodes a cytoplasmic and nuclear protein. Suppression of OsPAD4 by RNA interference (RNAi) increased rice susceptibility to the biotrophic pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), which causes bacteria blight disease in local tissue. OsPAD4-RNAi plants also show compromised wound-induced systemic resistance to Xoo. The increased susceptibility to Xoo was associated with reduced accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA) and phytoalexin momilactone A (MOA). Exogenous application of JA complemented the phenotype of OsPAD4-RNAi plants in response to Xoo. The following results suggest that OsPAD4 functions differently than AtPAD4 in response to pathogen infection. First, OsPAD4 plays an important role in wound-induced systemic resistance, whereas AtPAD4 mediates systemic acquired resistance. Second, OsPAD4-involved defense signaling against Xoo is JA-dependent, but AtPAD4-involved defense signaling against biotrophic pathogens is salicylic acid-dependent. Finally, OsPAD4 is required for the accumulation of terpenoid-type phytoalexin MOA in rice-bacterium interactions, but AtPAD4-mediated resistance is associated with the accumulation of indole-type phytoalexin camalexin.