An Arabidopsis Interactome Network Map

Evidence for Network Evolution in an Arabidopsis Interactome Map

Plants have unique features that evolved in response to environmental and ecological challenges. Accounts of the complex cellular networks that underlie plant-specific functions are missing. We describe a proteome-wide binary protein-protein interaction map for the interactome network of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana containing ~6,200 highly reliable interactions between ~2,700 proteins. Community analyses of the resulting network shows the global organization of plant biological processes. Many novel hypothetical functional links between proteins and pathways are observed. Dynamic rewiring of interactions following gene duplications provides evidence for a model of evolution acting upon interactome networks. This and future plant interactome maps should facilitate systems approaches to better understand plant biology and improve crops (Arabidopsis Interactome Mapping Consortium, Science 2011).

Independently Evolved Virulence Effectors Converge onto Plant Cell Hubs in an Immune System Network

Plants generate effective responses to infection by recognizing both conserved and variable pathogen-encoded molecules. Pathogens deploy virulence effector proteins into host cells, where they interact physically with host proteins to modulate defense. We generated a plant-pathogen immune system protein interaction network using effectors from two pathogens spanning the eukaryote-eubacteria divergence, three classes of plant immune system proteins and ~8,000 full-length Arabidopsis proteins. Effectors converge onto highly interconnected host proteins. There are more indirect than direct connections between effectors and plant immune receptors. Pathogens from different kingdoms deploy independently evolved virulence proteins that interact with a limited set of highly connected cellular hubs to facilitate diverse life cycle strategies (Mukhtar et al Science 2011).