AUTHOR=Jung Jihye , Kim Seon-Kyu , Jung Sung-Hee , Jeong Mi-Jeong , Ryu Choong-Min 

TITLE=Sound Vibration-Triggered Epigenetic Modulation Induces Plant Root Immunity Against Ralstonia solanacearum

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01978

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01978

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Sound vibration (SV) is one of the several environmental stimuli that induce physiological changes in plants including changes in plant immunity. Immune activation is a complicated process involving epigenetic modifications, however, SV-induced epigenetic modifications remain unexplored. Here, we performed an integrative analysis comprising chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and microRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) to understand the role of SV-mediated epigenetic modifications in immune activation in <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> against the root pathogen <italic>Ralstonia solanacearum</italic>. Plants exposed to SV (10 kHz) showed abundant H3K27me3 modification in the promoter regions of aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis and cytokinin signaling genes, leading to transcriptional changes that promote immunity. Additionally, 10 kHz SV down-regulated <italic>miR397b</italic> expression, thus activating three target <italic>LACCASE</italic> transcripts that mediate cell wall reinforcement via lignin accumulation. Taken together, SV triggers epigenetic modification of genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, defense hormone signaling, and pre-formed defense in <italic>A. thaliana</italic>, leading to the activation of plant immunity against <italic>R. solanacearum</italic>.</p>