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Plant cell surface receptors
Bruno Pok Man Ngou1, Yasuhiro Kadota1, Ken Shirasu1,2
1RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, RIKEN-TRIP, Yokohama, Japan.
The Plant Journal : for Cell and Molecular Biology
|March 23, 2026
Summary
Plants use cell surface receptors to sense environmental cues for growth and stress responses. These receptors have evolved to support new functions, offering potential for crop improvement and resilience.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Molecular signaling
Background:
- Plants must adapt to environmental changes by integrating external and internal cues.
- Cell surface receptors are crucial for perceiving these signals and coordinating plant responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline how plant cell surface receptors recognize extracellular signals and assemble into active complexes.
- To summarize downstream signaling pathways and their role in specificity.
- To discuss the origin and evolution of these receptors.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on plant cell surface receptors and signaling pathways.
- Analysis of ectodomain structures and their ligand-binding capabilities.
- Examination of evolutionary history of receptor-like kinases.
Main Results:
- Plant cell surface receptors recognize diverse signals including peptides, glycans, lipids, and phytohormones.
- Receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases and MAPK modules mediate downstream signaling with high specificity.
- Receptor-like kinases originated early and diversified significantly with land plant emergence.
Conclusions:
- The plant cell surface perception system is highly adaptable and has evolved to support various functions.
- Understanding receptor evolution offers opportunities for enhancing plant resilience and improving crop traits.
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