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. 2019 Aug;572(7767):131-135.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1413-y. Epub 2019 Jul 17.

A calmodulin-gated calcium channel links pathogen patterns to plant immunity

Wang Tian #  1 , Congcong Hou #  1 , Zhijie Ren #  2 , Chao Wang #  1 , Fugeng Zhao  3 , Douglas Dahlbeck  1 , Songping Hu  1 , Liying Zhang  2 , Qi Niu  2 , Legong Li  2 , Brian J Staskawicz  1 , Sheng Luan  4
Affiliations

A calmodulin-gated calcium channel links pathogen patterns to plant immunity

Wang Tian et al. Nature. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) activate innate immunity in both animals and plants. Although calcium has long been recognized as an essential signal for PAMP-triggered immunity in plants, the mechanism of PAMP-induced calcium signalling remains unknown1,2. Here we report that calcium nutrient status is critical for calcium-dependent PAMP-triggered immunity in plants. When calcium supply is sufficient, two genes that encode cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGC) proteins, CNGC2 and CNGC4, are essential for PAMP-induced calcium signalling in Arabidopsis3-7. In a reconstitution system, we find that the CNGC2 and CNGC4 proteins together-but neither alone-assemble into a functional calcium channel that is blocked by calmodulin in the resting state. Upon pathogen attack, the channel is phosphorylated and activated by the effector kinase BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1 (BIK1) of the pattern-recognition receptor complex, and this triggers an increase in the concentration of cytosolic calcium8-10. The CNGC-mediated calcium entry thus provides a critical link between the pattern-recognition receptor complex and calcium-dependent immunity programs in the PAMP-triggered immunity signalling pathway in plants.

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References

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