Rhomboid-mediated cleavage of the immune receptor XA21 protects grain set and male fertility in rice

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Vergish, Satyam; Huang, Xiaoen; Zhang, Guiyun; Franceschi, Beatriz de Toledo; Li, Jian-Liang; Wu, Xiao-Xia; Nuraj, Joana; Huguet-Tapia, Jose C.; Parajuli, Apekshya; Chen, Xiuhua; Shekhar, Ritu; Liu, Dali; Xiao, Wu-Ming; Dou, Shijuan; Liu, Guo-zhen; Goss, Erica M.; Pi, Liya; Chen, Sixue; Koch, Karen E.; Song, Wen- Yuan
• 署名单位: State University System of Florida; University of Florida; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); State University System of Florida; University of Florida; Hebei Agricultural University; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; Tulane University; University of Mississippi; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; Yangzhou University; State University System of Florida; Florida International University; Heilongjiang University; South China Agricultural University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-9645
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2502025122
• 发表日期: 2025-06-03
• 关键词: kinase; plant; resistance; proteins; DEFENSE; gene; complex; interacts; GROWTH; mutant

摘要

To maintain growth and to successfully reproduce, organisms must protect key functions in specific tissues, particularly when countering pathogen invasion using internal defensive proteins that may disrupt their own developmental processes. The rice immune receptor XA21 confers race-specific resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, which causes the deadly disease bacterial leaf blight. Here, we demonstrate that XA21 is cleaved by the rhomboid-like protease OsRBL3b, likely within its transmembrane domain. OsRBL3b mRNA transcripts are preferentially expressed in rice spikelets. Rice plants expressing Xa21 but lacking a functional OsRBL3b displayed impaired anther dehiscence and pollen viability, resulting in male sterility and yield reduction with high levels of XA21 protein present in spikelets during anthesis. In leaves, osrbl3b mutants expressing XA21 had normal levels of this resistance protein and disease immunity. This balance between reproduction and disease resistance through the specific expression of a rhomboid protease may be key to limiting the detrimental effects of an active immune response and may be useful in future for genetic improvement of crops.