Oligogalacturonides (OGs) released from the plant cell wall are active both as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) for the activation of the plant immune response and regulators of plant growth and development. Members of the Wall-Associated Kinase (WAK) family are candidate receptors of OGs, due to their ability to bind in vitro these oligosaccharides. Because lethality and redundancy have hampered the study of WAKs by reverse genetics, we have adopted a chimeric receptor approach to elucidate the role of Arabidopsis WAK1. In a test-of-concept study, we first defined the appropriate chimera design and demonstrated that the Arabidopsis pattern recognition receptor (PRR) EFR is amenable to the construction of functional and resistanceconferring chimeric receptors carrying the ectodomain of another Arabidopsis PRR, FLS2. After, we analyzed chimeras derived from EFR and WAK1. Our results show that, upon stimulation with OGs, the WAK1 ectodomain is capable of activating the EFR kinase domain. On the other hand, upon stimulation with the cognate ligand elf18, the EFR ectodomain activates the WAK1 kinase, triggering defense responses that mirror those normally activated by OGs and are effective against fungal and bacterial pathogens. Finally, we show that transgenic plants overexpressing WAK1 are more resistant to Botrytis cinerea.damage-associated molecular patterns | elongation factor tu receptor | pectin-mediated signaling | plant immunity | chimeric receptors

Oligogalacturonides (OGs) are oligomers of alpha-1,4-linked galacturonosyl residues released from plant cell walls upon partial degradation of homogalacturonan. OGs are able to elicit defense responses, including accumulation of reactive oxygen species and pathogenesis-related proteins, and protect plants against pathogen infections. Recent studies demonstrated that OGs are perceived by wall-associated kinases and share signaling components with microbe-associated molecular patterns. For this reason OGs are now considered true damage-associated molecular patterns that activate the plant innate immunity and may also be involved in the activation of responses to mechanical wounding. Furthermore, OGs appear to modulate developmental processes, likely through their ability to antagonize auxin responses. Here we review our current knowledge on the role and mode of action of this class of oligosaccharides in plant defense and development.

(M.P.) Pectin, one of the main components of plant cell wall, is secreted in a highly methylesterified form and is demethylesterified in muro by pectin methylesterase (PME). The action of PME is important in plant development and defense and makes pectin susceptible to hydrolysis by enzymes such as endopolygalacturonases. Regulation of PME activity by specific protein inhibitors (PMEIs) can, therefore, play a role in plant development as well as in defense by influencing the susceptibility of the wall to microbial endopolygalacturonases. To test this hypothesis, we have constitutively expressed the genes AtPMEI-1 and AtPMEI-2 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and targeted the proteins into the apoplast. The overexpression of the inhibitors resulted in a decrease of PME activity in transgenic plants, and two PME isoforms were identified that interacted with both inhibitors. While the content of uronic acids in transformed plants was not significantly different from that of wild type, the degree of pectin methylesterification was increased by about 16%. Moreover, differences in the fine structure of pectins of transformed plants were observed by enzymatic fingerprinting. Transformed plants showed a slight but significant increase in root length and were more resistant to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. The reduced symptoms caused by the fungus on transgenic plants were related to its impaired ability to grow on methylesterified pectins.Pectin is a structurally complex polysaccharide that accounts for nearly 35% of the dicot and nongraminaceous monocot primary cell wall. A main component of pectin is homogalacturonan (HGA) consisting of a backbone of 1,4-linked a-D-GalUA units, with variable amounts of methylester in the C 6 position. Pectins are secreted into the cell wall in a highly methylesterified form and, soon thereafter, are deesterified in muro by pectin methylesterase (PME; Brummell and Harpster, 2001;Willats et al., 2001). Demethylesterification produces free carboxyl groups and modifies the pH and charge of the wall, allowing the aggregation of polyuronides into a calcium-linked gel structure and increasing the wall firmness (Willats et al., 2001). In addition, the action of PMEs makes HGA susceptible to degradation by hydrolases such as endopolygalacturonases (endoPGs), contributing to the softening of the cell wall (Brummell and Harpster, 2001;Wakabayashi et al., 2003).Plant PMEs are involved in important physiological processes such as microsporogenesis, pollen growth, pollen separation, seed germination, root development, polarity of leaf growth, stem elongation, fruit ripening, and loss of tissue integrity

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) are plant proteins that counteract fungal polygalacturonases, which are important virulence factors. Like many other plant defense proteins, PGIPs are encoded by gene families, but the roles of individual genes in these families are poorly understood. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis, two tandemly duplicated PGIP genes are upregulated coordinately in response to Botrytis cinerea infection, but through separate signal transduction pathways. AtPGIP2 expression is mediated by jasmonate and requires COI1 and JAR1 , whereas AtPGIP1 expression is upregulated strongly by oligogalacturonides but is unaffected by salicylic acid, jasmonate, or ethylene. Both AtPGIP1 and AtPGIP2 encode functional inhibitors of polygalacturonase from Botrytis, and their overexpression in Arabidopsis significantly reduces Botrytis disease symptoms. Therefore, gene duplication followed by the divergence of promoter regions may result in different modes of regulation of similar defensive proteins, thereby enhancing the likelihood of defense gene activation during pathogen infection.

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) are plant cell wall proteins that protect plants from fungal invasion. They interact with endopolygalacturonases secreted by phytopathogenic fungi, inhibit their enzymatic activity, and favor the accumulation of oligogalacturonides, which activate plant defense responses. PGIPs are members of the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein family that in plants play crucial roles in development, defense against pathogens, and recognition of beneficial microbes. Here we report the crystal structure at 1.7-Å resolution of a PGIP from Phaseolus vulgaris. The structure is characterized by the presence of two ␤-sheets instead of the single one originally predicted by modeling studies. The structure also reveals a negatively charged surface on the LRR concave face, likely involved in binding polygalacturonases. The structural information on PGIP provides a basis for designing more efficient inhibitors for plant protection.