Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant immune signal produced after pathogen challenge to induce systemic acquired resistance. It is the only major plant hormone for which the receptor has not been firmly identified. Systemic acquired resistance in Arabidopsis requires the transcription cofactor nonexpresser of PR genes 1 (NPR1), the degradation of which acts as a molecular switch. Here we show that the NPR1 paralogues NPR3 and NPR4 are SA receptors that bind SA with different affinities. NPR3 and NPR4 function as adaptors of the Cullin 3 ubiquitin E3 ligase to mediate NPR1 degradation in an SA-regulated manner. Accordingly, the Arabidopsis npr3 npr4 double mutant accumulates higher levels of NPR1, and is insensitive to induction of systemic acquired resistance. Moreover, this mutant is defective in pathogen effector-triggered programmed cell death and immunity. Our study reveals the mechanism of SA perception in determining cell death and survival in response to pathogen challenge.

Circadian rhythms regulate a wide variety of developmental and metabolic processes resulting in enhanced fitness. This study of plant defence against the fungal pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, which causes downy mildew disease in Arabidopsis plants, reveals a link between the plant innate immune responses and the clock. The central circadian regulator CCA1 is shown to regulate a novel set of genes involved in R-gene-mediated defence. The mechanism allows plants to 'anticipate' infection at dawn when the pathogen normally disperses its spores. Circadian rhythms regulate a wide variety of developmental and metabolic processes resulting in enhanced fitness. In this study, a link is made between plant immune responses and the circadian clock. Plant defence against a fungal pathogen which causes downy mildew disease in Arabidopsis is studied, and it is shown that a novel set of defence genes are regulated by the circadian regulator CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1). The mechanism allows plants to 'anticipate' infection at dawn when the pathogen normally disperses its spores. Such a cross-talk mechanism reveals an important strategy for plants to time immune responses against pathogens. The principal immune mechanism against biotrophic pathogens in plants is the resistance (R)-gene-mediated defence1. It was proposed to share components with the broad-spectrum basal defence machinery2. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is largely unknown. Here we report the identification of novel genes involved in R-gene-mediated resistance against downy mildew in Arabidopsis and their regulatory control by the circadian regulator, CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1). Numerical clustering based on phenotypes of these gene mutants revealed that programmed cell death (PCD) is the major contributor to resistance. Mutants compromised in the R-gene-mediated PCD were also defective in basal resistance, establishing an interconnection between these two distinct defence mechanisms. Surprisingly, we found that these new defence genes are under circadian control by CCA1, allowing plants to ‘anticipate’ infection at dawn when the pathogen normally disperses the spores and time immune responses according to the perception of different pathogenic signals upon infection. Temporal control of the defence genes by CCA1 differentiates their involvement in basal and R-gene-mediated defence. Our study has revealed a key functional link between the circadian clock and plant immunity.

The master immune regulator NPR1 of Arabidopsis is a sensor of the plant’s redox state and regulates transcription of core circadian clock genes even in the absence of pathogen challenge. In plants — and in many other eukaryotic organisms — the circadian clock ensures daily rhythmic fluctuations in biological processes not just by affecting gene transcription but also by modifying the organism's redox state. The molecular mechanism by which redox rhythms are linked to the circadian clock and the biological significance of redox–circadian interactions remain unclear. Xinnian Dong and colleagues identify an unexpected regulator of such redox rhythms in Arabidopsis. They find that the master immune regulator NPR1 senses a plant's redox state and regulates transcription of both the morning and evening core circadian-clock genes, independently of pathogenic infection. This network architecture helps plants to 'gate' their immune responses to the morning, thus minimizing the effect on growth, which occurs during the night. Recent studies have shown that in addition to the transcriptional circadian clock, many organisms, including Arabidopsis, have a circadian redox rhythm driven by the organism’s metabolic activities1,2,3. It has been hypothesized that the redox rhythm is linked to the circadian clock, but the mechanism and the biological significance of this link have only begun to be investigated4,5,6,7. Here we report that the master immune regulator NPR1 (non-expressor of pathogenesis-related gene 1) of Arabidopsis is a sensor of the plant’s redox state and regulates transcription of core circadian clock genes even in the absence of pathogen challenge. Surprisingly, acute perturbation in the redox status triggered by the immune signal salicylic acid does not compromise the circadian clock but rather leads to its reinforcement. Mathematical modelling and subsequent experiments show that NPR1 reinforces the circadian clock without changing the period by regulating both the morning and the evening clock genes. This balanced network architecture helps plants gate their immune responses towards the morning and minimize costs on growth at night. Our study demonstrates how a sensitive redox rhythm interacts with a robust circadian clock to ensure proper responsiveness to environmental stimuli without compromising fitness of the organism.