Publications from The Sainsbury Laboratory

The innate immune system’s ability to recognize infectious non-self molecules relies on the sensitive perception of conserved pathogen- associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by host pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). A stereotypical bacterial PAMP recognized by mammalian cells is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major constituent of the outer cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria. Although plants are also able to perceive LPS and mount innate immune responses, no plant receptor for LPS was known until now. In this issue of Nature Immunology, Ranf et al. report the identification of a plasma-membrane receptor kinase that is required for respon- siveness to LPS in plants and define a type of domain potentially involved in the perception of LPS.

The ‘breaker’ element ( GcB ) of the gametocidal locus derived from Aegilops sharonensishas been mapped to a region proximal to a block of sub-telomeric heterochromatin on chromosome 4S sh L.

The production of alien chromosome addition lines allows the transfer of useful genetic variation into elite wheat varieties from related wild species. However, some wild relatives of wheat, particularly those within the Sitopsis section of the genus Aegilops, possess chromosomes that are transmitted preferentially to the offspring when addition lines are generated. Species within the Sitopsis group possess the S genome, and among these species, Aegilops sharonensis (2n = 14, SshSsh) carries the Ssh genome which is closely related to the D genome of hexaploid wheat. Some S genome chromosomes carry gametocidal loci, which induce severe chromosome breakage in gametes lacking the gametocidal chromosome, and hence, result in gamete abortion. The preferential transmission of gametocidal loci could be exploited in wheat breeding, because linking gametocidal loci with important agronomic traits in elite wheat varieties would ensure retention of these traits through successive generations. In this study, we have mapped the breaker element of the gametocidal locus derived from Ae. sharonensis to the region immediately proximal to a block of sub-telomeric heterochromatin on the long arm of chromosome 4Ssh.

14-3-3 proteins define a eukaryotic-specific protein family with a general role in signal transduction. Primarily, 14-3-3 proteins act as phospho-sensors, binding phosphorylated client proteins and modulating their functions. Since phosphorylation regulates a plethora of different physiological responses in plants, 14-3-3 proteins play roles in multiple signalling pathways, including those controlling metabolism, hormone signalling, cell division, and responses to abiotic and biotic stimuli. Increasing evidence supports a prominent role of 14-3-3 proteins in regulating plant immunity against pathogens at various levels. In this review, potential links between 14-3-3 function and the regulation of plant-pathogen interactions are discussed, with a special focus on the regulation of 14-3-3s in response to pathogen perception, interactions between 14-3-3s and defence-related proteins, and 14-3-3s as targets of pathogen effectors.

The domestication of wheat in the Fertile Crescent 10,000 years ago led to a genetic bottleneck. Modern agriculture has further narrowed the genetic base by introducing extreme levels of uniformity on a vast spatial and temporal scale. This reduction in genetic complexity renders the crop vulnerable to new and emerging pests and pathogens. The wild relatives of wheat represent an important source of genetic variation for disease resistance. For nearly a century farmers, breeders, and cytogeneticists have sought to access this variation for crop improvement. Several barriers restricting interspecies hybridization and introgression have been overcome, providing the opportunity to tap an extensive reservoir of genetic diversity. Resistance has been introgressed into wheat from at least 52 species from 13 genera, demonstrating the remarkable plasticity of the wheat genome and the importance of such natural variation in wheat breeding. Two main problems hinder the effective deployment of introgressed resistance genes for crop improvement: (1) the simultaneous introduction of genetically linked deleterious traits and (2) the rapid breakdown of resistance when deployed individually. In this review, we discuss how recent advances in molecular genomics are providing new opportunities to overcome these problems.

A number of plant pathogenic and symbiotic microbes produce specialized cellular structures that invade host cells where they remain enveloped by host-derived membranes. The mechanisms underlying the biogenesis and functions of host-microbe interfaces are poorly understood. Here, we show that plant late endocytic trafficking is diverted towards the extrahaustorial membrane; a host-pathogen interface that develops in plant cells invaded by Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans. A late endosome and tonoplast marker protein Rab7

GTPase RabG3c, but not a tonoplast-localized sucrose transporter, is recruited to the extrahaustorial membrane suggesting specific rerouting of vacuole targeted late endosomes to a host pathogen interface. We revealed the dynamic nature of this process by showing that, upon activation, a cell surface immune receptor traffics towards the haustorial interface. Our work provides insight into the biogenesis of the extrahaustorial membrane and reveals dynamic processes that recruit membrane compartments and immune receptors to this host-pathogen interface.

During infection, microbes are detected by surface-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), leading to an innate immune response that prevents microbial ingress. Therefore, successful pathogens must evade or inhibit PRR-triggered immunity to cause disease. In the past decade, a number of type-III secretion system effector (T3Es) proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria have been shown to suppress this layer of innate immunity. More recently, the detailed mechanisms of action have been defined for several of these effectors. Interestingly, effectors display a wide array of virulence targets, being able to prevent activation of immune receptors and to hijack immune signaling pathways. Besides being a fascinating example of pathogen-host co-evolution, effectors have also emerged as valuable tools to dissect important biological processes in host cells.

Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that affected Japan, >20,000 ha of rice paddy field was inundated with seawater, resulting in salt contamination of the land. As local rice landraces are not tolerant of high salt concentrations, we set out to develop a salt-tolerant rice cultivar. We screened 6,000 ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutant lines of a local elite cultivar, 'Hitomebore', and identified a salt-tolerant mutant that we name hitomebore salt tolerant 1 (hst1). In this Correspondence, we report how we used our MutMap method to rapidly identify a loss-of-function mutation responsible for the salt tolerance of hst1 rice. The salt-tolerant hst1 mutant was used to breed a salt-tolerant variety named 'Kaijin', which differs from Hitomebore by only 201 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Field trials showed that it has the same growth and yield performance as the parental line under normal growth conditions. Notably, production of this salt-tolerant mutant line ready for delivery to farmers took only two years using our approach.

• Components of brassinosteroid and PAMP receptor complexes are phosphorylated on tyrosine residues.

Tyrosine phosphorylation is an important post-translational modification that is known to regulate receptor kinase (RK)-mediated signaling in animals. Plant RKs are annotated as serine/threonine kinases, but recent work has revealed that tyrosine phosphorylation is also crucial for the activation of RK-mediated signaling in plants. These initial observations have paved the way for subsequent detailed studies on the mechanism of activation of plant RKs and the biological relevance of tyrosine phosphorylation for plant growth and immunity. In this Opinion article we review recent reports on the contribution of RK tyrosine phosphorylation in plant growth and immunity; we propose that tyrosine phosphorylation plays a major regulatory role in the initiation and transduction of RK-mediated signaling in plants.