Abstract
Plants have the ability to recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) from wide range of potential pathogenic microbes and trigger multiple defense responses. We so far identified two LysM receptor-like kinases in Arabidopsis and rice, CERK1 and OsCERK1, respectively and showed that both of them play a critical role in chitin elicitor signal transduction in each plant species(1). In addition, it was reported that OsCERK1 interact with Hsp90 and Hop/Sti1, which form a complex with various factors and contribute for the transportation from ER to plasma membrane and downstream signaling. We surveyed for the candidate proteins that interact with cytoplasmic domains of these receptors and participate in the downstream signaling, by using yeast two-hybrid analysis with kinase-active or inactive construct as a bait protein. As a result, we obtained several candidates such as E3 ubiquitin ligases, cytoplasmic protein kinases, and proteins containing forkhead-associated domains. Presently, we are analyzing the function of these candidates in chitin signaling by using corresponding knockout mutants.
(1)PNAS, 104, 19613; Plant J., 64, 204.
