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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-011 - BIR's evolutionarily conserved role as a negative regulator of anti-bacterial immunity in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.

Monday, July 14, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Extracellular & Intracellular non-self recognition & signaling

    Presenting Author(s)

  • CT

    Chia-Nan Tao, PhD (she/her/hers)

    ZMBP, University of Tuebingen
    Tübingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

    • Author(s)

  • UH

    Ulrike Herzog

    Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP), University of Tuebingen
    Tuebingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

  • RS

    Raphael Schaal (he/him/his)

    Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP), University of Tuebingen
    Tübingen, DE, GERMANY

  • PD

    Paul Derbyshire

    The Sainsbury Laboratory
    Norwich, England, United Kingdom

  • MO

    Maike Osterhus

    ZMBP, University of Tuebingen
    Tuebingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

  • PC

    Phil Carella

    Group Leader
    John Innes Centre
    Norwich, England, United Kingdom

  • FM

    Frank L.H. Menke

    The Sainsbury Laboratory
    Norwich, England, United Kingdom

  • CZ

    Cyril Zipfel

    Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich / The Sainsbury Laboratory
    Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • GF

    Georg Felix

    ZMBP, University of Tuebingen
    Tuebingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

  • IM

    Isabel Monte

    Prof. Group Leader
    Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP), University of Tuebingen, University of Tuebingen
    Tuebingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

Plants have a sophisticated immune system consisting of pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) to defend themselves from intruders. BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1-ASSOCIATED KINASE 1 (BAK1)-INTERACTING RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASES (BIRs) are key negative regulators of plant immunity and interact with critical PTI and ETI components. BIRs are exclusive to land plants, indicating their potential conserved role as regulators for land plant-specific pathways. The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha harbors a single BIR gene in its genome. We observed that MpBIR interacts with the Marchantia SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE (SERK) coreceptor. Furthermore, Mpbir CRISPR mutants are small and show enhanced cell death, reminiscent of the autoimmunity phenotype of Arabidopsis thaliana bir1 mutant. Mpbir mutants challenged with Pseudomonas viridiflava were remarkably resistant. To investigate the molecular mechanisms behind this phenotype, we analysed the expression of PTI marker genes after P. viridiflava inoculation. We found that Mpbir shows upregulation of these genes and that P. viridiflava suppresses them. Moreover, inoculation with P. viridiflava hrcN-, a type-III secretion system deficient mutant, resulted in similar growth in wild-type and Mpbir plants. Our results demonstrate the evolutionary conserved role of BIRs in plant immunity and the importance of effectors in Marchantia-P. viridiflava interaction.