PLANT AND ANIMAL PATHOGEN RECOGNITION RECEPTORS SIGNAL THROUGH NON-RD KINASES

Authors: Dardick, Christopher - Chris; RONALD, PAMELA - UNIV OF CA, DAVIS

Submitted to: Mid Atlantic Plant Molecular Biology Society Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2005
Publication Date: 1/19/2006
Citation: Dardick, C.D., Ronald, P. 2006. Plant and animal pathogen recognition receptors signal through non-rd kinases. Mid Atlantic Plant Molecular Biology Society Conference. PloS Pathogens. 2:14-28.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Plants and animals mediate early steps of the innate immune response through pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs). PRRs commonly associate with or contain members of a monophyletic group of kinases that include Drosophila Pelle, human IRAK, rice XA21 and Arabidopsis FLS2. In addition to their phylogenetic similarities, we have found that these kinases also fall into a small functional class of kinases termed non-RD. Non-RD kinases, unlike the more common RD kinases, do not typically auto-phosphorylate a regulatory region called the activation loop. This suggests that the regulatory mechanisms of kinases mediating early steps of innate immunity signaling are conserved in plants and animals. We surveyed the human, fly, worm, Arabidopsis and rice kinomes (3,122 kinases) and found that despite the small number of non-RD kinases in these genomes (9-29%), nearly all kinases associated with PRRs fall into the non-RD class. Furthermore, plant non-RD receptor kinases show evolutionary expansion patterns consistent with that of NBS-LRRs, supporting a role for these kinases in pathogen recognition. These data indicate that kinases associated with PRRs can largely be predicted by the lack of a single conserved residue.