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Plant genetics

Pathogen perception and deception in plant immunity by kinase fusion proteins

Nature Genetics (2023)Cite this article

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Two studies describe kinase fusion proteins (KFPs) that regulate the perception and deception of wheat pathogens. These highlight the emergence of KFPs as plant immune regulators and emphasize the importance of crop wild relatives as a reservoir for resistance breeding and global food security.

Plants have evolved an innate immune system comprised of germline-encoded immune receptors that can recognize all pathogen classes. Plant immune receptors are structurally similar to their animal counterparts and include pattern-recognition receptors as well as intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors (Fig. 1). Plant pattern recognition receptors are receptor-like kinases (RLKs) or receptor-like proteins that can recognize conserved pathogen or damage-associated molecular patterns. NLR receptors recognize diverse pathogen effector proteins delivered into plant cells during infection. Both types of immune receptor have been intensely investigated over the past 30 years, resulting in a detailed understanding of plant immune signaling. However, in comparison, the role of noncanonical R-genes, some of which confer durable resistance, is relatively unexplored.

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Fig. 1: Domain architecture of plant innate immune receptors and KFPs.

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Acknowledgements

T.F. and G.C. were supported by the US-Israel NSF-BSF (1937855, 2019654) and the USDA (2020-67013-32577).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Tzion Fahima

  2. Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Tzion Fahima

  3. Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Gitta Coaker

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  1. Tzion Fahima
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  2. Gitta Coaker
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Correspondence to Tzion Fahima or Gitta Coaker.

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Fahima, T., Coaker, G. Pathogen perception and deception in plant immunity by kinase fusion proteins. Nat Genet (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01396-w

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