Structural and Functional Insights into an Arabidopsis NBS-LRR Receptor in Nicotiana benthamiana

Nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat receptors (NBS-LRR/NLRs) are crucial intracellular immune proteins in plants. Previous article reported a novel NLR protein SUT1 (SUPPRESSORS OF TOPP4-1, 1), which is involved in autoimmunity initiated by type one protein phosphatase 4 mutation (topp4-1) in Arabidopsis, however, its role in planta is still unclear. This study employed Nicotiana benthamiana, a model platform, to conduct an overall structural and functional analysis of SUT1 protein. The transient expression results revealed that SUT1 is a typical CNL (CC-NBS-LRR) receptor, both fluorescence data and biochemical results showed the protein is mainly anchored on the plasma membrane due to its N-terminal acylation site. Further truncation experiments announced that its CC (coiled-coil) domain possessed cell-death-inducing activity. The outcomes of point mutations analysis revealed that not only the CC domain, but also the full-length SUT1 protein, whose function and subcellular localization are influenced by highly conserved hydrophobic residues. These research outcomes provided favorable clues for elucidating the activation mechanism of SUT1.

The Application of Nicotiana benthamiana as a Transient Expression Host to Clone the Coding Sequences of Plant Genes

Coding sequences (CDS) are commonly used for transient gene expression, in yeast two-hybrid screening, to verify protein interactions and in prokaryotic gene expression studies. CDS are most commonly obtained using complementary DNA (cDNA) derived from messenger RNA (mRNA) extracted from plant tissues and generated by reverse transcription. However, some CDS are difficult to acquire through this process as they are expressed at extremely low levels or have specific spatial and/or temporal expression patterns in vivo. These challenges require the development of alternative CDS cloning technologies. In this study, we found that the genomic intron-containing gene coding sequences (gDNA) from Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Brassica napus, and Glycine max can be correctly transcribed and spliced into mRNA in Nicotiana benthamiana. In contrast, gDNAs from Triticum aestivum and Sorghum bicolor did not function correctly. In transient expression experiments, the target DNA sequence is driven by a constitutive promoter. Theoretically, a sufficient amount of mRNA can be extracted from the N. benthamiana leaves, making it conducive to the cloning of CDS target genes. Our data demonstrate that N. benthamiana can be used as an effective host for the cloning CDS of plant genes.

Screening and Identifying of Interaction Protein AtL5 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Research background: The Arabidopsis-resistance protein L5 (AT1G12290) can trigger cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana, which is a characteristic function of an NBS-LRR (Nucleotide-Binding Sites and Leucine-Rich Repeat) protein activation. Purpose: To explore the function and molecular regulatory network of L5. Method: We employed yeast two-hybrid technology to search for interacting proteins of L5, combined with laser confocal microscopy to observe the subcellular localization of these candidate proteins, and analyzed the impact of these proteins on L5 function using an Agrobacterium mediated transient expression system. Results: Seven candidate interacting proteins were identified from the Arabidopsis cDNA library, including PPA1 (AT1G01050), RIN4 (AT3G25070), LSU1 (AT3G49580), BZIP24 (AT3G51960), BOI (AT4G19700), RING/U (AT4G22250) and PPA3 (AT2G46860). Functional analysis of these candidate interacting proteins showed that they participated in multiple pathways, including biological and abiotic stress, programmed cell death, protein degradation, material metabolism and transcriptional regulation. The results of laser confocal microscopy manifested that RIN4 was only localized on the plasma membrane (PM), and RING/U was mainly associated with the PM. PPA1, PPA3, LSU1, BZIP24, and BOI all emerged nuclear and cytoplasmic localization. The results of the transient assay proclaimed that both BOI and RING/U can inhibit cell death caused by L5. Conclusions: These results indicate that L5 immune receptors may participate in various pathways, and their protein levels and activities are strictly regulated at multiple levels, providing a basis for elucidating the mechanism of L5 immune receptors in Arabidopsis resistance.

Dissecting Multiple Arabidopsis CC-NBS-LRR Proteins Structure and Localization

NBS-LRR (nucleotide binding sites and leucine rich repeat) protein plays a crucial role as sentries and as defense activators in plants. The structure and function of NBS-LRR proteins are closely related. Previous articles have announced that the activated ZAR1 (HopZ-Activated Resistance 1) forms a pentamer in the plasma membrane, which is a calcium permeable channel that can trigger plant immune signaling and cell death. However, the structure of galore NBS-LRRs in Arabidopsis is not yet clear. The functional sites of distinct NBS-LRR in cells may vary. In addition, identifying pathogens and activating defense regions may occur in different subcellular compartments. Therefore, dissecting the specific structure and positioning of NBS-LRRs is an indispensable step in understanding their functions. In this article, we exploit AlphaFold to predict the structure of some designed NBS-LRRs, and utilize Agroinfiltration transient expression system, combined with biochemical fractionation, to dissect the localization of these NBS-LRR receptors from Arabidopsis. Structural data indicates that the identified NBS-LRRs share analogous conformation. Membrane fractionation assay demonstrates these NBS-LRRs are mainly associated with the membrane. These data show that the Ca2+-permeable channel activity may be evolutionarily conserved in NBS-LRR of Arabidopsis, and this study provides some reference clues for analyzing the structure and localization patterns of other plant immune receptors.