Reported differences in the flg22 response of the null mutation of AtRGS1 correlates with fixed genetic variation in the background of Col-0 isolates

A role for the heterotrimeric G protein complex in the induction of a transient burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the Microbial-Associated Molecular Pattern, flg22, a 22-amino acid peptide derived from bacterial flagella, is well established. However, the evidence for a negative or positive role for one component of the Arabidopsis G protein complex, namely, Regulator of G Signaling 1 (AtRGS1) leads to opposing conclusions. We show that the reason for this difference is due to the isolate of Col-0 ecotype used as the wildtype control in flg22-induced ROS and our data further support the idea that AtRGS1 is a negative regulator of the flg22-induced ROS response. Whole-genome genotyping led to the identification and validation of polymorphism in five genes between two Col-0 isolates that are candidates for the different ROS response relative to the rgs1 null mutant.