The tomato resistance gene Bs4 suppresses leaf watersoaking phenotypes induced by AvrHah1, a transcription activator-like effector from tomato-pathogenic xanthomonads.

The Xanthomonas transcription activator-like effector (TALE) protein AvrBs3 transcriptionally activates the executor-type resistance (R) gene Bs3 from pepper (Capsicum annuum), thereby triggering a hypersensitive cell death reaction (HR). AvrBs3 also triggers an HR in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) upon recognition by the nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) R protein Bs4. Whether the executor-type R protein Bs3 and the NLR-type R protein Bs4 use common or distinct signalling components to trigger an HR remains unclear. CRISPR/Cas9-mutagenesis revealed, that the immune signalling node EDS1 is required for Bs4- but not for Bs3-dependent HR, suggesting that NLR- and executor-type R proteins trigger an HR via distinct signalling pathways. CRISPR/Cas9-mutagenesis also revealed that tomato Bs4 suppresses the virulence function of both TALEs, the HR-inducing AvrBs3 protein and of AvrHah1, a TALE that does not trigger an HR in tomato. Analysis of AvrBs3- and AvrHah1-induced host transcripts and disease phenotypes in CRISPR/Cas9-induced bs4 mutant plants indicates that both TALEs target orthologous transcription factor genes to promote disease in tomato and pepper host plants. Our studies display that tomato mutants lacking the TALE-sensing Bs4 protein provide a novel platform to either uncover TALE-induced disease phenotypes or genetically dissect components of executor-triggered HR.

An RLP23-SOBIR1-BAK1 complex mediates NLP-triggered immunity.

Plants and animals employ innate immune systems to cope with microbial infection. Pattern-triggered immunity relies on the recognition of microbe-derived patterns by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1-like proteins (NLPs) constitute plant immunogenic patterns that are unique, as these proteins are produced by multiple prokaryotic (bacterial) and eukaryotic (fungal, oomycete) species. Here we show that the leucine-rich repeat receptor protein (LRR-RP) RLP23 binds in vivo to a conserved 20-amino-acid fragment found in most NLPs (nlp20), thereby mediating immune activation in Arabidopsis thaliana. RLP23 forms a constitutive, ligand-independent complex with the LRR receptor kinase (LRR-RK) SOBIR1 (Suppressor of Brassinosteroid insensitive 1 (BRI1)-associated kinase (BAK1)-interacting receptor kinase 1), and recruits a second LRR-RK, BAK1, into a tripartite complex upon ligand binding. Stable, ectopic expression of RLP23 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) confers nlp20 pattern recognition and enhanced immunity to destructive oomycete and fungal plant pathogens, such as Phytophthora infestans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. PRRs that recognize widespread microbial patterns might be particularly suited for engineering immunity in crop plants.