Disruption of Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation Improves Plant Tolerance to Methyl Viologen-Mediated Oxidative Stress via Induction of ROS Scavenging Enzymes

ADP-ribosylation (ADPRylation) is a mechanism which post-translationally modifies proteins in eukaryotes in order to regulate a broad range of biological processes including programmed cell death, cell signaling, DNA repair, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Poly(ADP-ribosyl) polymerases (PARPs) play a key role in the process of ADPRylation, which modifies target proteins by attaching ADP-ribose molecules. Here, we investigated whether and how PARP1 and PARylation modulate responses of Nicotiana benthamiana plants to methyl viologen (MV)-induced oxidative stress. It was found that the burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cell death, and loss of tissue viability invoked by MV in N. benthamiana leaves was significantly delayed by both the RNA silencing of the PARP1 gene and by applying the pharmacological inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (3AB) to inhibit PARylation activity. This in turn reduced the accumulation of PARylated proteins and significantly increased the gene expression of major ROS scavenging enzymes including SOD (NbMnSOD; mitochondrial manganese SOD), CAT (NbCAT2), GR (NbGR), and APX (NbAPX5), and inhibited cell death. This mechanism may be part of a broader network that regulates plant sensitivity to oxidative stress through various genetically programmed pathways.