Plants and animals detect pathogen infection using intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) that directly or indirectly recognize pathogen effectors and activate an immune response. How effector sensing triggers NLR activation remains poorly understood. Here we describe the 3.8-angstrom-resolution cryo–electron microscopy structure of the activated ROQ1 (recognition of XopQ 1), an NLR native to Nicotiana benthamiana with a Toll-like interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain bound to the Xanthomonaseuvesicatoria effector XopQ (Xanthomonas outer protein Q). ROQ1 directly binds to both the predicted active site and surface residues of XopQ while forming a tetrameric resistosome that brings together the TIR domains for downstream immune signaling. Our results suggest a mechanism for the direct recognition of effectors by NLRs leading to the oligomerization-dependent activation of a plant resistosome and signaling by the TIR domain.

Plants and animals detect pathogen infection via intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) that directly or indirectly recognize pathogen effectors and activate an immune response. How effector sensing triggers NLR activation remains poorly understood. Here we describe the 3.8 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of the activated Roq1, an NLR native to Nicotiana benthamiana with a Toll-like interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain, bound to the Xanthomonas effector XopQ. Roq1 directly binds to both the predicted active site and surface residues of XopQ while forming a tetrameric resistosome that brings together the TIR domains for downstream immune signaling. Our results suggest a mechanism for the direct recognition of effectors by NLRs leading to the oligomerization-dependent activation of a plant resistosome and signaling by the TIR domain.

SUMMARY It is still unclear what molecular forces drive chaperone-mediated protein folding. Here, we obtain a detailed mechanistic understanding of the forces that dictate the four key steps of chaperone-client interaction: initial binding, complex stabilization, folding, and release. Contrary to the common belief that chaperones recognize unfolding intermediates by their hydrophobic nature, we discover that the model chaperone Spy uses long-range electrostatic interactions to rapidly bind to its unfolded client protein Im7. Short-range hydrophobic interactions follow, which serve to stabilize the complex. Hydrophobic collapse of the client protein then drives its folding. By burying hydrophobic residues in its core, the client’s affinity to Spy decreases, which causes client release. By allowing the client to fold itself, Spy circumvents the need for client-specific folding instructions. This mechanism might help explain how chaperones can facilitate the folding of various unrelated proteins.

Challenges in determining the structures of heterogeneous and dynamic protein complexes have greatly hampered past efforts to obtain a mechanistic understanding of many important biological processes. One such process is chaperone-assisted protein folding, where obtaining structural ensembles of chaperone:substrate complexes would ultimately reveal how chaperones help proteins fold into their native state. To address this problem, we devised a novel structural biology approach based on X-ray crystallography, termed Residual Electron and Anomalous Density (READ). READ enabled us to visualize even sparsely populated conformations of the substrate protein immunity protein 7 (Im7) in complex with the E. coli chaperone Spy. This study resulted in a series of snapshots depicting the various folding states of Im7 while bound to Spy. The ensemble shows that Spy-associated Im7 samples conformations ranging from unfolded to partially folded and native-like states, and reveals how a substrate can explore its folding landscape while bound to a chaperone.