Transcriptional control and exploitation of an immune-responsive family of plant retrotransposons
ABSTRACTMobilization of transposable elements (TEs) in plants has been recognized as a driving force of evolution and adaptation, in particular by providing genes with regulatory modules that impact their transcription. In this study, we employed anATCOPIA93Long terminal repeats (LTR) promoter-GUSfusion to show that this retrotransposon behaves like an immune-responsive gene during plant defense in Arabidopsis. We also showed that the reactivation of the endogenousATCOPIA93copy“EVD”, in the presence of bacterial stress, is not only negatively regulated by DNA methylation but also by Polycomb-mediated silencing—a mode of repression typically found at protein-coding and microRNA genes. Interestingly, one of theATCOPIA93-derived soloLTRs is located upstream of the disease resistance geneRPP4and is devoid of either DNA methylation or H3K27m3 marks. Through loss-of-function experiments, we demonstrated that this soloLTR is required for proper expression ofRPP4during plant defense, thus linking the responsiveness ofATCOPIA93to biotic stress and the co-option of its LTR for plant immunity.