Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

Cite

Illouz-Eliaz, N., Yu, J., Swift, J., Lande, K., Jow, B., Tuang, Z.K., Lee, T., Yaaran, A., Castanon, R.G., Nery, J.R. and Nobori, T., 2025. Drought recovery in plants triggers a cell-state-specific immune activation. Nat Commun 16, 8095 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63467-2

Abstract

All organisms experience stress as an inevitable part of life, from single-celled microorganisms to complex multicellular beings. The ability to recover from stress is a fundamental trait that determines the overall resilience of an organism, yet stress recovery is understudied. To investigate how plants recover from drought, we examine a fine-scale time series of RNA sequencing starting 15 min after rehydration following moderate drought. We reveal that drought recovery is a rapid process involving the activation of thousands of recovery-specific genes. To capture these rapid recovery responses in different Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) leaf cell types, we perform a single-nucleus transcriptome analysis at the onset of drought recovery, identifying a cell type-specific transcriptional state developing independently across cell types. To further validate the cell-type specific transcriptional changes observed during drought recovery, we employ spatial transcriptomics using multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH), revealing anatomical localization of recovery-induced gene expression programs across Arabidopsis leaf tissues. Furthermore, we reveal a recovery-induced activation of the immune system that occurs autonomously, and which enhances pathogen resistance in vivo in A. thaliana, wild tomato (Solanum pennellii) and domesticated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. M82). Since rehydration promotes microbial proliferation and thereby increases the risk of infection, the activation of drought recovery-induced immunity may be crucial for plant survival in natural environments. These findings indicate that drought recovery coincides with a preventive defense response, unraveling the complex regulatory mechanisms that facilitate stress recovery in different plant cell types.

Datasets

1. Integrated single-nucleus RNA-seq dataset of drought and recovery

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Sample ID
Treatment
Subject ID
Cell subtype
Cell type (Seurat clusters)
Cell type
Cell type (condition)
Cell subtype (condition)
GEO accession
Sample name
Tissue
Age
Genotype
Clusters (integrated_snn_res.8)
Seurat clusters
Assay
Treatment (short)
Disease
W15.226,746 cells
W15.122,697 cells
D0.220,440 cells
D0.119,494 cells
W0.218,824 cells
W0.115,876 cells
R15.110,681 cells
R15.29,736 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

2. Single-nucleus RNA-seq of plants during dehydration

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Day
Cell type
Group
Sample name
Tissue
Age
Genotype
Treatment
Assay
Disease
Sample ID
Day_56,184 cells
Day_14,812 cells
Day_22,866 cells
Day_32,687 cells
Day_41,790 cells
Day_01,202 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

3. Bulk RNA-seq time course of drought recovering plants - Run 1

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Leiden clustering
Sample ID
Sample name
GEO accession
Tissue
Cell line
Genotype
Treatment
Treatment group
Timepoint
Assay
Age
Disease
Treatment + Timepoint
Treatment group - Timepoint
Cluster 325 cells
Cluster 221 cells
Cluster 18 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

4. Bulk RNA-seq time course of drought recovering plants - Run 2

Explore
Leiden clustering
Sample ID
Sample name
GEO accession
Tissue
Cell line
Genotype
Treatment
Age
Assay
Disease
Cluster 17 cells
Cluster 26 cells
Cluster 36 cells
Cluster 45 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

5. Bulk RNA-seq time course of drought recovering plants - Run 3

Explore
Leiden clustering
Sample ID
Sample name
GEO accession
Tissue
Cell line
Genotype
Treatment
Disease
Age
Assay
Cluster 218 cells
Cluster 118 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

6. Bulk RNA-seq profilling of Col and camta1 mutants samples

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Leiden clustering
Sample ID
Sample name
GEO accession
Tissue
Genotype
Treatment
Disease
Age
Assay
Cluster 210 cells
Cluster 18 cells
Cluster 37 cells
Cluster 43 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

7. Spatial transcriptomics of Arabidopsis leaf tissue under four water conditions

Explore
Cell type
Sample ID
Treatment
GEO accession
Tissue
Disease
Assay
Leiden clustering
Leiden clustering (resolution=1)
Cell subtype
Mesophyll3,430 cells
Epidermal1,156 cells
Vascular108 cells
Drought Recovery in Plants Triggers a Cell-State Specific Immune Activation

Alias names

GSE220278, GSE220277, GSE220276, GSE289042, GSE303744