A fresh thespian in the resistant system of plant has been place . KAUST scientist have identified the protein MAP4K4 is needed to bestride right defenses against environmental pathogen .
The discovery helps explain the pissed control of immune signalise in plants and reveals targets in a molecular pathway that could be manipulated by crop breeders . " Our findings are right away applicable to make plants more resistant to pathogens , " says study author , Heribert Hirt , Professor of Plant Science at KAUST ’s Desert Agriculture Initiative .
MAP4K4 ( light for mitogen - spark protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 4 ) is a well - established player in human immunity and inflaming , but its office in plant disease electrical resistance was unknown . Hirt and his collaborators slip up on it during a large screen for protein involve in signal transduction in the weedy thale cress plant Arabidopsis . By studying mutant flora that miss a working copy of MAP4K4 , Hirt ’s team then drill down into the core occasion of this protein .
First , they showed that MAP4K4 was all important for right resistant responses to flg22 , a peptide derived from a bacterial protein found within the filamentous scourge of disease - stimulate microbes . work with colleagues in France , the KAUST researchers – led by Hirt and postdoctoral fellow , Yunhe Jiang – then detailed how .
They shew that MAP4K4 straight adds chemical tags ( in the form of phosphate chemical group ) at several situation of another protein , BIK1 . This assist stabilize BIK1 and push the yield of highly toxic atom that dally a primal role in pathogen opposition , explain Jiang . The researchers also showed that MAP4K4 tag end a represser of BIK1 with phosphate decorations . This chemical adornment handicap the negative regulator to further promote BIK1 activation .
So far , Hirt and his lab grouping in the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division of KAUST have only draw this function of MAP4K4 in Arabidopsis unsusceptibility . They reported the findings on 20 May 2025 in Reports .
" The next step is to test our findings also in crop by generating knock - out mutant , " Hirt says . " This is quite feasible now by using CRISPR - Cas9 gene - redaction engineering that is found in tomato , Elmer Leopold Rice and other metal money of agricultural importance . "
The researchers also plan to examine the role of other regulative proteins within the MAP4 K class , of which at least 10 exist in plants . Intriguingly , Jiang showed that one house member , MAP4K3 , seems to act synergistically with MAP4K4 to verify BIK1 stabilization and pathogen - have resistant responses .
Closely bear on MAP4 K proteins may thus share overlapping single-valued function but also have trenchant features that collectively add to the fidelity of resistant signaling in plant . A good knowledge of these point mechanisms could assist agribusinesses keep plant pathogen at bay .
Source : EurekAlert
