The common bean COK‐4 and the Arabidopsis FER kinase domain share similar functions in plant growth and defence

Abstract

Receptor-like kinases are membrane proteins that can be shared by diverse signalling pathways. Among them, the Arabidopsis thaliana FERONIA (FER) plays a role in the balance between distinct signals to control growth and defence. We have found that COK-4, a putative kinase encoded in the common bean anthracnose resistance locus Co-4, which is transcriptionally regulated during the immune response, is highly similar to the kinase domain of FER. To assess whether COK-4 is a functional orthologue of FER, we expressed COK-4 in the wild-type Col-0 and the fer-5 mutant of Arabidopsis and evaluated FER-associated traits. We observed that fer-5 plants show an enhanced apoplastic and stomatal defence against Pseudomonas syringae. In addition, the fer-5 mutant shows reduced biomass, smaller guard cell size, greater number of stomata per leaf area, fewer leaves, faster transition to reproductive stage and lower seed weight per plant than the wild-type Col-0. Except for the stomatal complex length and number of stomata, COK-4 expression in fer-5 lines partially or completely rescued both defence and developmental defects of fer-5 to the wild-type level. Notably, COK-4 may have an additive effect to FER, as the expression of COK-4 in Col-0 resulted in enhanced defence and growth phenotypes in comparison with wild-type Col-0 plants. Altogether, these findings indicate that the common bean COK-4 shares at least some of the multiple functions of the Arabidopsis FER kinase domain, acting in both the induction of plant growth and regulation of plant defence.

Pseudomonas phaseolicola preferentially modulates genes encoding leucine-rich repeat and malectin domains in the bean landrace G2333

“…FER is a member of the Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase1 (RLK1)-like family, known by its carbohydrate-binding activity, which controls plant growth and plant defense in Arabidopsis (Stegmann et al 2017;Franck et al 2018). We previously showed that COK-4, a common bean kinase, can complement the function of mutated FER in the defense and growth of Arabidopsis fer-5 (Azevedo et al 2018), supporting the notion that common bean has a similar signaling pathway as the one activated by FER in Arabidopsis. HB5.1 also influences seed yield (Tock et al 2017), encouraging the hypothesis that malectin-domain proteins are involved in the growth-defense tradeoff in various common bean genotypes.…”

New Andean source of resistance to anthracnose and angular leaf spot: Fine-mapping of disease-resistance genes in California Dark Red Kidney common bean cultivar

“…MDIS2 is involved in plant fertilization [80]. Another protein putatively involved in plant fertility and linked to ANT resistance in beans is Feronia-like, which is closely related to the ANT resistance gene COK-4 [54] and is thought to function in the regulation of both plant growth and defense [82]. Therefore, it seems that proteins involved in pollen-gametophyte recognition have roles in common bean defense against ANT and possibly also against ALS.…”