WAKsing plant immunity, waning diseases

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Stephens, C., Hammond-Kosack, K. E. and Kanyuka, K. 2021. WAKsing plant immunity, waning diseases. Journal of Experimental Botany. 73 (1), pp. 22-37. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab422

AuthorsStephens, C., Hammond-Kosack, K. E. and Kanyuka, K.
Abstract

With the requirement to breed more productive crop plants to feed a growing global population, compounded by increasingly wide-spread resistance to pesticides exhibited by pathogens, plant immunity is becoming an increasingly important area of research. Of the genes that contribute to disease resistance, the wall-associated receptor-like kinases (WAKs) are increasingly shown to play a major role, in addition to their contribution to plant growth and development or tolerance to abiotic stresses. Being transmembrane proteins, WAKs form a central pillar of a plant cells ability to monitor and interact with their extracellular environments. Found in both dicots and monocots, WAKs have been implicated in defence against pathogens with diverse lifestyles and contribute to plant immunity in a variety of ways. Whilst some act as cell surface-localised immune receptors recognising either pathogen- or plant-derived invasion molecules (e.g. effectors or damage-associated molecular patterns, respectively), others promote innate immunity through cell wall modification and strengthening, thus limiting pathogen intrusion. The ability of some WAKs to provide both durable resistance against pathogens and other agronomic benefits, makes this gene family important targets in the development of future crop ideotypes and important to a greater understanding of the complexity and robustness of plant immunity.

KeywordsCell wall; Disease resistance; Immune receptor; Pattern recognition receptor (PRR); Plant immunity; Plant-pathogen interactions; Receptor-like kinase; Wall-associated kinase
Year of Publication2021
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Journal citation73 (1), pp. 22-37
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab422
Open accessPublished as green open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Funder project or codeNottingham-Rothamsted Doctoral Training Partnership
Designing Future Wheat (DFW) [ISPG]
WGIN 4 (Wheat Genetic Improvement Network 4) [2018-2023]
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online14 Sep 2021
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN0022-0957

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/98551/waksing-plant-immunity-waning-diseases

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