Abstract
Defense responses triggered by the perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) have been regarded as important components of basal resistance in plants. We have recently cloned and characterized a rice gene encoding a chitin elicitor receptor, CEBiP (Chitin Elicitor Binding Protein)*. From the structural prediction, CEBiP appears not to have any intracellular domains, indicating the presence of partner protein(s) that mediates intracellular signal transduction. To identify such a complementary component, we surveyed Arabidopsis KO mutants for loss of ROS generation as an index of elicitor responsiveness. One KO mutant of a receptor-like kinase gene exhibited loss of ROS generation, the activation of MPK3/MPK6 and the induction of defense-related genes upon elicitor treatments. These results clearly showed that this receptor kinase is an essential component for the chitin elicitor signaling in A. thaliana. *Kaku et al., PNAS, 103, 11086 ('06)
