Poster
Mung Hsia Foo
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Gabriel X. Garcia Ramirez
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Anne Harzen
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Sara Stolze
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Proteomics Group
Koeln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Jan de Vries
Professor
Georg-August-University Goettingen
Goettingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
Keiko Sakakibara
Rikkyo University
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Hirofumi Nakagami
Group leader
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Koeln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
The cell-surface localized lysin motif (LysM) RLKs/RLPs function as sensors for pathogenic and symbiotic microbes in land plants, recognizing chitin, lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs), and peptidoglycan. These receptors play crucial roles in activating various responses leading to pathogen defense or symbiosis establishment. While the functions of LysM RLKs/RLPs are well-studied, their evolutionary origin remains less explored. In this study, we investigate LysM RLKs in streptophyte algae to gain deeper insights into the evolution of LysM RLKs/RLPs. Through in vitro study, we found that the ectodomains of LysM RLKs in Charophyceae algae Chara braunii and Zynematophyceae Spirogyra pratensis can bind chitin. Likewise, the LysM ectodomain of a liverwort Marchantia polymorpha also binds chitin, indicating an ancestral role in chitin recognition. However, chitin treatment did not trigger downstream responses in streptophyte algae as it does in land plants. A trans-species complementation study in Marchantia polymorpha underscores the importance of LysM RLK heterodimerization for proper downstream signaling. Overall, our study provides insights into the evolutionary origin and function of LysM RLKs/RLPs in land plants.