Title:Defense Against Pathogens: Structural Insights into the Mechanism of Chitin Induced Activation of Innate Immunity
Volume: 24
Issue: 36
Author(s): Flavia Squeglia, Rita Berisio, Naoto Shibuya and Hanae Kaku*
Affiliation:
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, 1-1-1 Higashi- Mita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, 214-8571,Japan
Keywords:
Innate immunity, plants, LysM, chitin, receptor, pathogens.
Abstract: Pattern recognition receptors on the plant cell surface mediate the recognition of
microbe-associated molecular patterns, in a process which activates downstream immune signaling.
These receptors are plasma membrane-localized kinases which need to be autophosphorylated
to activate downstream responses. Perception of attacks from fungi occurs through
recognition of chitin, a polymer of an N-acetylglucosamine which is a characteristic component
of the cell walls of fungi. This process is regulated in Arabidopsis by chitin elicitor receptor
kinase CERK1. A more complex process characterizes rice, in which regulation of chitin
perception is operated by a complex composed of OsCERK1, a homolog of CERK1, and
the chitin elicitor binding protein OsCEBiP. Recent literature has provided a mechanistic description
of the complex regulation of activation of innate immunity in rice and an advance in
the structural description of molecular players involved in this process. This review describes
the current status of the understanding of molecular events involved in innate immunity activation
in rice.