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R proteins as fundamentals of plant innate immunity

Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters volume 16, pages 1–24 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Plants are attacked by a wide spectrum of pathogens, being the targets of viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and insects. Over the course of their evolution, plants have developed numerous defense mechanisms including the chemical and physical barriers that are constitutive elements of plant cell responses locally and/or systemically. However, the modern approach in plant sciences focuses on the evolution and role of plant protein receptors corresponding to specific pathogen effectors. The recognition of an invader’s molecules could be in most cases a prerequisite sine qua non for plant survival. Although the predicted three-dimensional structure of plant resistance proteins (R) is based on research on their animal homologs, advanced technologies in molecular biology and bioinformatics tools enable the investigation or prediction of interaction mechanisms for specific receptors with pathogen effectors. Most of the identified R proteins belong to the NBS-LRR family. The presence of other domains (including the TIR domain) apart from NBS and LRR is fundamental for the classification of R proteins into subclasses. Recently discovered additional domains (e.g. WRKY) of R proteins allowed the examination of their localization in plant cells and the role they play in signal transduction during the plant resistance response to biotic stress factors. This review focuses on the current state of knowledge about the NBS-LRR family of plant R proteins: their structure, function and evolution, and the role they play in plant innate immunity.

Abbreviations

CC:

coiled-coil domain

CNL:

NBS-LRR receptors containing CC domain

HR:

hypersensitive response

LRR:

leucine-rich repeat

MAMP:

microbe-associated molecular pattern

MIMP:

microbe-induced molecular pattern

NB:

nucleotide binding

NBARC:

NB domain with ARC motif

NBS:

nucleotide-binding site

PAMP:

pathogen-associated molecular pattern

PRR:

pattern recognition receptor

TIR:

Toll and interleukin receptor

TLR:

Toll-like receptor

TNL:

NBS-LRR receptor containing TIR domain

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Łódź, S. Banacha 12/16, 90-237, Łódź, Poland

    Sylwester Głowacki, Violetta K. Macioszek & Andrzej K. Kononowicz

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  1. Sylwester Głowacki
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  2. Violetta K. Macioszek
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  3. Andrzej K. Kononowicz
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Correspondence to Andrzej K. Kononowicz.

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These authors contributed equally to this work

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Głowacki, S., Macioszek, V.K. & Kononowicz, A.K. R proteins as fundamentals of plant innate immunity. Cell Mol Biol Lett 16, 1–24 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11658-010-0024-2

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Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters

ISSN: 1689-1392

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