Zhang Tao, Klair Amman, Tang Ziyao, Tripka Abigail, Luo Shihong, Reyes Andres V, Lee Jihyeon, Gundran Katreena, Noll Sarah E, Wang Xuanzhi, Zare Richard N, Xu Shou-Ling, Garay-Arroyo Adriana, Wang Chu, Dickinson Alexandra J
Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Jun 6;11(23):eadt7463. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt7463.
Itaconate, derived from the tricarboxylic acid cycle, is recognized as a key regulator of the immune response in mammals. Despite this well-characterized role, its presence and functions within plants have remained largely unexplored. Here, we identify itaconate as an endogenous metabolite in maize and and investigate its impact on development. Itaconate treatment has dose-dependent effects on growth in maize and seedlings. To characterize the mechanisms responsible for itaconate's regulation of plant development, we investigated its effects on roots using analysis of mutants and reporter lines, RNA sequencing, and two forms of protein-metabolite interaction assays. Our results demonstrate that itaconate covalently binds to proteins and substantially influences critical pathways in plants, including central carbon metabolism, phytohormone signaling, and oxidative stress response. This study expands the current understanding of itaconate's roles beyond the animal kingdom, providing a foundation for further research into its complex functions in plants.
衣康酸源自三羧酸循环，是哺乳动物免疫反应的关键调节因子。尽管其作用已得到充分表征，但其在植物中的存在和功能在很大程度上仍未得到探索。在此，我们鉴定出衣康酸是玉米中的一种内源性代谢物，并研究其对发育的影响。衣康酸处理对玉米和幼苗的生长具有剂量依赖性影响。为了表征衣康酸调节植物发育的机制，我们通过突变体和报告株系分析、RNA测序以及两种形式的蛋白质-代谢物相互作用测定，研究了其对根的影响。我们的结果表明，衣康酸与蛋白质共价结合，并对植物中的关键途径产生重大影响，包括中心碳代谢、植物激素信号传导和氧化应激反应。这项研究扩展了目前对衣康酸在动物界之外作用的理解，为进一步研究其在植物中的复杂功能奠定了基础。
