TY - JOUR A1 - van Velzen, Ellen T1 - Predator coexistence through emergent fitness equalization JF - Ecology : a publication of the Ecological Society of America N2 - The competitive exclusion principle is one of the oldest ideas in ecology and states that without additional self-limitation two predators cannot coexist on a single prey. The search for mechanisms allowing coexistence despite this has identified niche differentiation between predators as crucial: without this, coexistence requires the predators to have exactly the same R* values, which is considered impossible. However, this reasoning misses a critical point: predators' R* values are not static properties, but affected by defensive traits of their prey, which in turn can adapt in response to changes in predator densities. Here I show that this feedback between defense and predator dynamics enables stable predator coexistence without ecological niche differentiation. Instead, the mechanism driving coexistence is that prey adaptation causes defense to converge to the value where both predators have equal R* values ("fitness equalization"). This result is highly general, independent of specific model details, and applies to both rapid defense evolution and inducible defenses. It demonstrates the importance of considering long-standing ecological questions from an eco-evolutionary viewpoint, and showcases how the effects of adaptation can cascade through communities, driving diversity on higher trophic levels. These insights offer an important new perspective on coexistence theory. KW - coexistence KW - competition KW - competitive exclusion KW - defense KW - eco-evolutionary feedbacks KW - emergent facilitation KW - predator KW - prey KW - dynamics Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2995 SN - 0012-9658 SN - 1939-9170 VL - 101 IS - 5 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shahnejat-Bushehri, Sara A1 - Nobmann, Barbara A1 - Allu, Annapurna Devi A1 - Balazadeh, Salma T1 - JUB1 suppresses Pseudomonas syringae-induced defense responses through accumulation of DELLA proteins JF - Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology N2 - Phytohormones act in concert to coordinate plant growth and the response to environmental cues. Gibberellins (GAs) are growth-promoting hormones that recently emerged as modulators of plant immune signaling. By regulating the stability of DELLA proteins, GAs intersect with the signaling pathways of the classical primary defense hormones, salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), thereby altering the final outcome of the immune response. DELLA proteins confer resistance to necrotrophic pathogens by potentiating JA signaling and raise the susceptibility to biotrophic pathogens by attenuating the SA pathway. Here, we show that JUB1, a core element of the GA - brassinosteroid (BR) - DELLA regulatory module, functions as a negative regulator of defense responses against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) and mediates the crosstalk between growth and immunity. KW - Arabidopsis KW - defense KW - DELLA proteins KW - gibberellin KW - jasmonic acid KW - pathogens KW - salicylic acid KW - transcription factor Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2016.1181245 SN - 1559-2316 SN - 1559-2324 VL - 11 PB - Elsevier CY - Philadelphia ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lämke, Jörn A1 - Bäurle, Isabel T1 - Epigenetic and chromatin-based mechanisms in environmental stress adaptation and stress memory in plants JF - Genome biology : biology for the post-genomic era N2 - Plants frequently have to weather both biotic and abiotic stressors, and have evolved sophisticated adaptation and defense mechanisms. In recent years, chromatin modifications, nucleosome positioning, and DNA methylation have been recognized as important components in these adaptations. Given their potential epigenetic nature, such modifications may provide a mechanistic basis for a stress memory, enabling plants to respond more efficiently to recurring stress or even to prepare their offspring for potential future assaults. In this review, we discuss both the involvement of chromatin in stress responses and the current evidence on somatic, intergenerational, and transgenerational stress memory. KW - remodeling atpase brahma KW - transcriptional memory KW - DNA methylation KW - transgenerational inheritance KW - acquired thermotolerance KW - Arabidopsis-thaliana KW - gene-expression KW - responses KW - protein KW - defense Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-017-1263-6 SN - 1474-760X VL - 18 SP - 8685 EP - 8693 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Crawford, Tim A1 - Karamat, Fazeelat A1 - Lehotai, Nóra A1 - Rentoft, Matilda A1 - Blomberg, Jeanette A1 - Strand, Åsa A1 - Björklund, Stefan T1 - Specific functions for mediator complex subunits from different modules in the transcriptional response of arabidopsis thaliana to abiotic stress JF - Scientific reports N2 - Adverse environmental conditions are detrimental to plant growth and development. Acclimation to abiotic stress conditions involves activation of signaling pathways which often results in changes in gene expression via networks of transcription factors (TFs). Mediator is a highly conserved co-regulator complex and an essential component of the transcriptional machinery in eukaryotes. Some Mediator subunits have been implicated in stress-responsive signaling pathways; however, much remains unknown regarding the role of plant Mediator in abiotic stress responses. Here, we use RNA-seq to analyze the transcriptional response of Arabidopsis thaliana to heat, cold and salt stress conditions. We identify a set of common abiotic stress regulons and describe the sequential and combinatorial nature of TFs involved in their transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, we identify stress-specific roles for the Mediator subunits MED9, MED16, MED18 and CDK8, and putative TFs connecting them to different stress signaling pathways. Our data also indicate different modes of action for subunits or modules of Mediator at the same gene loci, including a co-repressor function for MED16 prior to stress. These results illuminate a poorly understood but important player in the transcriptional response of plants to abiotic stress and identify target genes and mechanisms as a prelude to further biochemical characterization. KW - regulate gene expression KW - signal transduction KW - circadian clock KW - plant Mediator KW - salicylic-acid KW - activation KW - jasmonate KW - network KW - defense KW - MED16 Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61758-w SN - 2045-2322 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - London ER -