Experimental context shapes interpretation of immune outputs in Arabidopsis.

Rosettes of Arabidopsis thaliana show higher sensitivity than seedlings for elf18- and flg22-triggered ROS and MAPK outputs, while seedlings show stronger Aeq cyt/pMAQ2 calcium responses.

• Why it matters: PRR activation is often measured in different experimental formats, but it is unclear whether immune readouts from sterile seedlings and soil-grown rosettes reflect the same activation strength.
• What they did: The study compared elf18 and flg22 across a range of concentrations in seedlings versus rosettes, measuring ROS, cytosolic calcium via the Aeq cyt/pMAQ2 reporter, MAPK activation, and seedling growth inhibition (SGI).
• The result: Rosettes were more sensitive for ROS and MAPK, seedlings had stronger calcium signals linked to reduced reporter transcript accumulation in rosette tissue, and SGI was more sensitive to elf18 despite flg22’s stronger early signaling.

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