Abstract
In plants, sophisticated forms of immune systems have developed to cope with a variety of pathogens. Accumulating evidence indicates that Rac (also known as Rop), a member of the Rho family of small GTPases, is a key regulator of immunity in plants and animals. Like other small GTPases, Rac/Rop GTPases function as a molecular switch downstream of immune receptors by cycling between GDP-bound inactive and GTP-bound active forms in cells. Rac/Rop GTPases trigger various immune responses, thereby resulting in enhanced disease resistance to pathogens. In this review, we highlight recent studies that have contributed to our current understanding of the Rac/Rop family GTPases and the upstream and downstream proteins involved in plant immunity. We also compare the features of effector-triggered immunity between plants and animals, and discuss the in vivo monitoring of Rac/Rop activation.
Highlights
Recent studies on plant-pathogen interactions have revealed that plants have developed a two-branched system of immunity to prevent the invasion of pathogens
Most pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are subdivided into three categories that include receptor-like kinases (RLKs), receptor-like proteins (RLPs), and receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCK; Monaghan and Zipfel, 2012)
The transport of the OsCERK1 complex is mediated by the small GTPase Sar1 that regulates endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi trafficking because overexpression of Constitutively active (CA)-Sar1 compromised the transport of OsCERK1 from the ER to the plasma membrane (Chen et al, 2010a). These results suggest that the Hop/Sti1-HSP90 chaperone complex plays an important role in the maturation and transport of PRRs and may function to link PRRs and Rac/Rop GTPases
Summary
Recent studies on plant-pathogen interactions have revealed that plants have developed a two-branched system of immunity to prevent the invasion of pathogens. Accumulating evidence indicates that Rac ( known as Rop), a member of the Rho family of small GTPases, is a key regulator of immunity in plants and animals. Like other small GTPases, Rac/Rop GTPases function as a molecular switch downstream of immune receptors by cycling between GDP-bound inactive and GTP-bound active forms in cells.
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