Remodelling autoactive NLRs for broad-spectrum immunity in plants
Junzhu Wang1,2, Tianyuan Chen1,2, Zhendong Zhang1,2
1MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Nature
|July 16, 2025
Summary
Scientists engineered a new plant defense system using a chimeric protein that activates immune receptors upon pathogen attack. This breakthrough offers broad-spectrum, durable disease resistance for improved crop protection and food security.
Area of Science:
- Plant immunity
- Molecular biology
- Agricultural science
Background:
- Plant immune receptors are crucial for disease resistance, but current methods face challenges with pathogen evolution and lack broad-spectrum protection.
- The rapid evolution of plant pathogens threatens global food security and environmental sustainability.
- Developing durable and broad-spectrum disease resistance is vital for agriculture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer a novel strategy for broad-spectrum, durable, and complete disease resistance in plants.
- To develop an innovative approach to enhance plant immune receptor function against diverse pathogens.
Main Methods:
- Engineered a chimeric protein comprising a flexible polypeptide and pathogen-originated protease cleavage sites fused to an autoactive nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich-repeat immune receptor (NLR).
- The chimeric protein is cleaved by pathogen proteases upon invasion, releasing the active NLR to trigger plant immunity.
- Tested the engineered NLR for its ability to confer resistance against multiple potyviruses.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that the engineered chimeric protein strategy confers broad-spectrum and complete disease resistance in plants.
- A single engineered NLR was shown to provide comprehensive resistance against various potyviruses.
- The mechanism relies on pathogen-specific proteases activating the plant immune receptor.
Conclusions:
- The developed strategy offers a promising method for engineering broad-spectrum and durable disease resistance in plants.
- This approach has the potential to be applied against a wide range of plant pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, oomycetes, fungi, nematodes, and pests.
- This innovation could significantly contribute to enhancing crop protection and global food security.
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