Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase NILR1 is required for induction of innate immunity to parasitic nematodes.

Badou Mendy,Cyril Zipfel,Zoran S Radakovic,Shahid Siddique,Muhammad Ilyas,Nick Holton,Mary Wanjiku Wang’Ombe,Julia Holbein,Divykriti Chopra,Florian M W Grundler

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1006284

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes are destructive pests causing losses of billions of dollars annually. An effective plant defence against pathogens relies on the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by surface-localised receptors leading to the activation of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Extensive studies have been conducted to characterise the role of PTI in various models of plant-pathogen interactions. However, far less is known about the role of PTI in roots in general and in plant-nematode interactions in particular. Here we show that nematode-derived proteinaceous elicitor/s is/are capable of inducing PTI in Arabidopsis in a manner dependent on the common immune co-receptor BAK1. Consistent with the role played by BAK1, we identified a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase, termed NILR1 that is specifically regulated upon infection by nematodes. We show that NILR1 is essential for PTI responses initiated by nematodes and nilr1 loss-of-function mutants are hypersusceptible to a broad category of nematodes. To our knowledge, NILR1 is the first example of an immune receptor that is involved in induction of basal immunity (PTI) in plants or in animals in response to nematodes. Manipulation of NILR1 will provide new options for nematode control in crop plants in future.

Highlights

Plant-parasitic nematodes attack the majority of economically significant crops, as shown by international surveys indicating an overall yield loss of 12%
Host perception of pathogens via receptors leads to the activation of antimicrobial defence responses in all multicellular organisms, including plants
Plant-parasitic nematodes cause significant yield losses in agriculture; resistance is an important trait in crop breeding

Summary

Introduction

Plant-parasitic nematodes attack the majority of economically significant crops, as shown by international surveys indicating an overall yield loss of 12%. In some crops, such as banana, a loss of up to 30% has been reported. An increased demand for novel crop cultivars with durable nematode resistance is inevitable [2, 3]. In this context, it is important to identify and characterize the different natural means by which plants defend themselves against nematodes

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