A coiled-coil domain mutation in the NLR receptor SbYR1 coordinates plant growth and stress tolerance in sorghum

NLRs are a group of specific plant receptors that recognizes effectors secreted by pathogens, activates downstream immune responses, and confers resistance to pathogens. Despite variations, the functions of some NLR genes may be conserved across species, but their role in sorghum remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the stunted and yellow ripple leaf mutant sbyr1 from sorghum BTx623. Map-based cloning revealed that SbYR1 was annotated as a coiled-coil NLR with three conserved domains, namely, RX-CC, NB-ARC, and LRR, with a Thr4Met mutation in the CC domain. Inoculation experiments revealed that the sbyr1 mutation enhanced tolerance to head smut disease in sorghum. To further verify the function of SbYR1, we analysed the transcriptomes and metabolomes of the shoots of sbyr1 and BTx623. The results indicated that both the DEGs and the DAMs were enriched in secondary metabolic pathways, such as the flavonoid, JA, and ABA pathways. The increased contents of JA and ABA as a downstream effect of sbyr1 suppressed growth, whereas the application of exogenous inhibitors of JA and ABA inhibited the endogenous hormones and thus caused sbyr1 to grow productively. Overexpression and homologous gene knockout in rice confirmed that sbyr1 affects plant growth and development. In conclusion, our study revealed that a CC domain mutation in SbYR1 influences plant growth and plays a role in resistance to head smut disease and downstream secondary metabolism. KEY MESSAGE: •The Thr4Met mutation in the coiled-coil domain of the NLR receptor SbYR1 coordinates plant growth and stress tolerance in sorghum.