https://www.cell.com/trends/immunology/pdf/S1471-4906(14)00094-5.pdf

Plant pattern-recognition receptors.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/pdf/S2211-1247(12)00133-7.pdf

The Arabidopsis NPR1 Protein Is a Receptor for the Plant Defense Hormone Salicylic Acid

Plant pattern recognition receptor complexes at the plasma membrane.

Plants are constantly exposed to would-be pathogens and pests, and thus have a sophisticated immune system to ward off these threats, which otherwise can have devastating ecological and economic consequences on ecosystems and agriculture. Plants employ receptor kinases (RKs) and receptor-like proteins (RLPs) as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to monitor their apoplastic environment and detect non-self and damaged-self patterns as signs of potential danger. Plant PRRs contribute to both basal and non-host resistances, and treatment with pathogen-/microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/MAMPs) or damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) recognized by plant PRRs induces both local and systemic immunity. Here, we comprehensively review known PAMPs/DAMPs recognized by plants as well as the plant PRRs described to date. In particular, we describe the different methods that can be used to identify PAMPs/DAMPs and PRRs. Finally, we emphasize the emerging biotechnological potential use of PRRs to improve broad-spectrum, and potentially durable, disease resistance in crops.

Function, Discovery, and Exploitation of Plant Pattern Recognition Receptors for Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance

Plants have evolved a powerful immune system to defend against infection by most microbial organisms. However, successful pathogens, such as Pseudomonas syringae, have developed countermeasures and inject virulence proteins into the host plant cell to suppress immunity and cause devastating diseases. Despite intensive research efforts, the molecular targets of bacterial virulence proteins that are important for plant disease development have remained obscure. Here, we show that a conserved P. syringae virulence protein, HopM1, targets an immunity-associated protein, AtMIN7, in Arabidopsis thaliana. HopM1 mediates the destruction of AtMIN7 via the host proteasome. Our results illustrate a strategy by which a bacterial pathogen exploits the host proteasome to subvert host immunity and causes infection in plants.

Supporting Online Material for A Bacterial Virulence Protein Suppresses Host Innate Immunity to Cause Plant Disease

Recently, genome sequencing of many isolates of genetically monomorphic bacterial human pathogens has given new insights into pathogen microevolution and phylogeography. Here, we report a genome-based micro-evolutionary study of a bacterial plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Only 267 mutations were identified between five sequenced isolates in 3,543,009 nt of analyzed genome sequence, which suggests a recent evolutionary origin of this pathogen. Further analysis with genome-derived markers of 89 world-wide isolates showed that several genotypes exist in North America and in Europe indicating frequent pathogen movement between these world regions. Genome-derived markers and molecular analyses of key pathogen loci important for virulence and motility both suggest ongoing adaptation to the tomato host. A mutational hotspot was found in the type III-secreted effector gene hopM1. These mutations abolish the cell death triggering activity of the full-length protein indicating strong selection for loss of function of this effector, which was previously considered a virulence factor. Two non-synonymous mutations in the flagellin-encoding gene fliC allowed identifying a new microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMP) in a region distinct from the known MAMP flg22. Interestingly, the ancestral allele of this MAMP induces a stronger tomato immune response than the derived alleles. The ancestral allele has largely disappeared from today's Pto populations suggesting that flagellin-triggered immunity limits pathogen fitness even in highly virulent pathogens. An additional non-synonymous mutation was identified in flg22 in South American isolates. Therefore, MAMPs are more variable than expected differing even between otherwise almost identical isolates of the same pathogen strain.

/pdf/the-plant-pathogen-pseudomonas-syringae-pv-tomato-is-2tx3yrw0mg.pdf

Christy Baker

Papers

The plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato is genetically monomorphic and under strong selection to evade tomato immunity.