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A LysM Receptor-Like Kinase Plays a Critical Role in Chitin Signaling and Fungal Resistance in Arabidopsis^[W],[OA]

^a Division of Plant Sciences, National Center for Soybean Biotechnology, Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
^b Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801
^c Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487
^d U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soybean/Maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research, Urbana, Illinois 61801

¹ Address correspondence to staceyg{at}missouri.edu.

Chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, is found in fungal cell walls but not in plants. Plant cells can perceive chitin fragments (chitooligosaccharides) leading to gene induction and defense responses. We identified a LysM receptor-like protein (LysM RLK1) required for chitin signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana. The mutation in this gene blocked the induction of almost all chitooligosaccharide-responsive genes and led to more susceptibility to fungal pathogens but had no effect on infection by a bacterial pathogen. Additionally, exogenously applied chitooligosaccharides enhanced resistance against both fungal and bacterial pathogens in the wild-type plants but not in the mutant. Together, our data indicate that LysM RLK1 is essential for chitin signaling in plants (likely as part of the receptor complex) and is involved in chitin-mediated plant innate immunity. The LysM RLK1-mediated chitin signaling pathway is unique, but it may share a conserved downstream pathway with the FLS2/flagellin- and EFR/EF-Tu–mediated signaling pathways. Additionally, our work suggests a possible evolutionary relationship between the chitin and Nod factor perception mechanisms due to the similarities between their potential receptors and between the signal molecules perceived by them.

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				N. A. Eckardt Chitin Signaling in Plants: Insights into the Perception of Fungal Pathogens and Rhizobacterial Symbionts PLANT CELL, February 1, 2008; 20(2): 241 - 243. [Full Text] [PDF]