Cell-type-specific activation of broadly perceived effector-triggered immunity restricts pathogen invasion in plants

Cell Host & Microbe, vol. 34, pp. 1843–1853.e4

Abstract

Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is central in plant defense, but whether all cell types execute ETI similarly remains unknown. We combined chemically imposed immune activation with single-cell transcriptomics to profile ETI responses across major leaf cell types in Arabidopsis. Despite uniform ETI perception, we find divergent transcriptional outputs: a core set of defense genes is broadly induced, while distinct cell types activate specialized immune modules. We infer that immune outputs are shaped not only by immune receptor activation but also by cell identity, transcription factor availability, and chromatin accessibility. We further demonstrate that epidermis-enriched transcriptional regulators are required to restrict invasion by non-adapted pathogens. Their absence permits pathogen entry into deeper tissues despite intact recognition, revealing a spatial division of immune functions. Our findings uncover a layered immune architecture in plants, challenge the assumption of uniform immune activation, and establish a framework for exploring cell-type-specific resistance logic in multicellular hosts.

Authors 7

1. Himanshu Chhillar Aachen Institute of Biology Leiden

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333 BE, the Netherlands

2. Leonardo Jo

   Wageningen University & Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands

3. Volkan Çevik

   University of Bath

   Affiliation as printed

   Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

4. Amey Redkar

   University of East Anglia · Sainsbury Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

5. Kaisa Kajala

   Utrecht University

   Affiliation as printed

   Experimental & Computational Plant Development, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CS, the Netherlands

6. Jonathan D. G. Jones

   University of East Anglia · Sainsbury Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

7. Pingtao Ding corresponding Aachen Institute of Biology Leiden

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, 2333 Leiden, the Netherlands