Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern-Triggered Immunity in Plants

Abstract

As a universal process in multicellular organisms, including animals and plants, cells usually emit danger signals when suffering from attacks of microbes and herbivores, or physical damage. These signals, termed as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), mainly include cell wall or extracellular protein fragments, peptides, nucleotides, and amino acids. Once exposed on cell surfaces, DAMPs are detected by plasma membrane-localized receptors of surrounding cells to regulate immune responses against the invading organisms and promote damage repair. DAMPs may also act as long-distance mobile signals to mediate systemic wounding responses. Generation, release, and perception of DAMPs, and signaling events downstream of DAMP perception are all rigorously modulated by plants. These processes integrate together to determine intricate mechanisms of DAMP-triggered immunity in plants. In this review, we present an extensive overview on our current understanding of DAMPs in plant immune system.

Keywords: DAMPs; PRRs; plant immunity; receptor-like kinases; systemic resistance.

FIGURE 1

DAMP-triggered immunity in plants. Pathogen invasion disrupts plant cell wall and plasma membrane, leading to the release of DAMPs, including fragments of cell walls and apoplastic proteins, and cytoplasmic components. Perception of DAMPs as well as PAMPs by PRRs in cells surrounding of the damaged cells also promotes the production and release of new DAMPs. These DAMPs collaborating with PAMPs modulate immune responses locally and systemically.