(549f) Cellulose Nanocrystals Improve Pathogen Resistance in Plants

Plants are capable of mounting an immune defense in response to infection, wounding, or environmental stress. The immune response of a plant is often mediated through recognition of conserved molecular motifs associated with stress. Peptides of bacterial origin, fungal oligosaccharides, and small molecule hormones for example can all elicit an immune response in plants. Treating plants with these molecular motifs prior to exposure to stress, termed immune priming, can improve plant resilience to the subsequent stressors. Here we demonstrate use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as an immune priming tool for Arabidopsis thaliana combining phenotypic and transcriptomic data to validate the efficacy of CNCs as an immune primer and probe underlying biological mechanisms. First, we show that pretreatment of Arabidopsis with CNCs significantly reduces infection of plants by the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae in a dose dependent manner. Next, RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR data suggest Arabidopsis recognizes CNCs as cell-wall damage, potentially explaining the observed immune response. Further physiological characterization of plant cell wall reorganization in response to CNCs further supports this hypothesis. This work provides a foundation for future investigation of cellulose-based materials as immune primers, particularly in crop species. Given their ease of synthesis, low cost, and bio/environmental compatibility, cellulose-based materials could serve as an alternative pathogen control methodology for agricultural scale application.