TUM discovers steroid hormone mechanism controlling plant immune response
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich led by Brigitte Poppenberger discovered that plant steroid hormones regulate immune responses through an epigenetic mechanism. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that in healthy plants, steroid hormones keep immune receptors inactive via transcription factors that alter DNA modifications, allowing resources for growth. When plants encounter pathogens, these transcription factors are inactivated, allowing immune receptors to assemble and activate defense responses. The researchers demonstrated this mechanism in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana after infection with powdery mildew.