Abstract
Plants are able to discriminate and respond to structurally related chitooligosaccharide (CO) signals from pathogenic and symbiotic fungi. In model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa LysM-receptor like kinases (LysM-RLK) AtCERK1 and OsCERK1 (chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1) were shown to be involved in response to CO signals. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the pea Pisum sativum L. LysM-RLK PsLYK9 was chosen as a possible candidate given its role on the CERK1-like receptor. The knockdown regulation of the PsLyk9 gene by RNA interference led to increased susceptibility to fungal pathogen Fusarium culmorum. Transcript levels of PsPAL2, PsPR10 defense-response genes were significantly reduced in PsLyk9 RNAi roots. PsLYK9’s involvement in recognizing short-chain COs as most numerous signals of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, was also evaluated. In transgenic roots with PsLyk9 knockdown treated with short-chain CO5, downregulation of AM symbiosis marker genes (PsDELLA3, PsNSP2, PsDWARF27) was observed. These results clearly indicate that PsLYK9 appears to be involved in the perception of COs and subsequent signal transduction in pea roots. It allows us to conclude that PsLYK9 is the most likely CERK1-like receptor in pea to be involved in the control of plant immunity and AM symbiosis formation.
Highlights
The ability of plants to distinguish between pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms determines their ability to successfully exist in soil
To identify CERK1-like receptor in pea, we searched for genes encoding LysM-RLKs in this legume; 26 and 19 LysM-RLKs genes have been found in model legumes like Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus [26,27,28], while only three P. sativum L. genes of this family have been annotated in databases to date—PsSym10 and PsSym37, PsK1 [11,29]
It was shown that the AtCERK1 in Arabidopsis has a high homology to genes in M. truncatula and L. japonicus, which belong to LysM-I phylogenetic groups including homologs of MtLYK3 (LysM-type receptor-like kinase 3) and LjNFR1 (Nod factor receptor 1) genes in these legumes [26,27,30]
Summary
The ability of plants to distinguish between pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms determines their ability to successfully exist in soil. The recognition of a microorganism as a pathogen during early interactions triggers activation of the immune responses that prevent microbial penetration into plant cells. Plants are able to develop symbiotic relationships with beneficial microorganisms like arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria belonging to the order Rhizobiales, known as rhizobia [4,5]. The development of symbiotic interactions is based on the ability of microorganisms to avoid the activation of the plant’s immune system or to suppress it for intracellular infection progression. To establish different types of plant–microbial relationships, microorganisms enter into a molecular dialog with plants
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