Wang J, Sun X, Xiong F, Lapin D, Lee T, Martin-Ramirez S, Prakken A, Shen Q, Bautor J, Maekawa T, Parker JE. Coordinated actions of NLR-assembled and glutamate receptor-like calcium channels in plant effector-triggered immunity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Sep 2;122(35):e2508018122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2508018122. Epub 2025 Aug 22. PMID: 40844808.

Huang S, Wang J, Song R, Jia A, Xiao Y, Sun Y, Wang L, Mahr D, Wu Z, Han Z, Li X, Parker JE, Chai J. Balanced plant helper NLR activation by a modified host protein complex. Nature. 2025 Feb 12. doi: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08521-710.1038/s41586-024-08521-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39939760.

Wu Y, Xu W, Zhao G, Lei Z, Li K, Liu J, Huang S, Wang J, Zhong X, Yin X, Wang Y, Zhang H, He Y, Ye Z, Meng Y, Chang X, Lin H, Wang X, Gao Y, Chai J, Parker JE, Deng Y, Zhang Y, Gao M, He Z. A canonical protein complex controls immune homeostasis and multipathogen resistance. Science. 2024 Dec 20;386(6728):1405-1412. doi: 10.1126/science.adr2138. Epub 2024 Nov 7. PMID: 39509474.

Shen Q, Hasegawa K, Oelerich N, Prakken A, Tersch LW, Wang J, Reichhardt F, Tersch A, Choo JC, Timmers T, Hofmann K, Parker JE, Chai J, Maekawa T. Cytoplasmic calcium influx mediated by plant MLKLs confers TNL-triggered immunity. Cell Host Microbe. 2024 Mar 13:S1931-3128(24)00059-3. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.02.016. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38513655.

Locci F and Parker JE* 2024. Plant NLR immunity activation and execution: a biochemical perspective. Open Biol. 14:230387. doi.org/10.1098/rsob.230387

Former participating Project leader:

Prof. Dr. Jijie Chai
Institute for Biochemistry, University of Cologne
 

Prof. Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research

Contact: schlef(at)mpipz.mpg(dot)de
For more information visit: Schulze-Lefert lab

Former abstract:

Nucleotide-binding domain/leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors provide a crucial barrier to pathogen infection in mammals and plants. In both systems, NLRs sense microbe-mediated perturbations inside host cells and, via conformational switches, induce cell death and anti-microbial pathways leading to disease resistance. This project integrates protein structure-function studies with in vivo molecular and pathology phenotyping, genetics and cell biology to answer fundamental questions about how plant sensor NLRs activate cell death pathways and whether different NLR types converge on the same or distinct cell death machineries in immunity.

Zeng, Y., Zheng, Z., Hessler, G., Zou, K., Bautor, J., Stuttmann, J., Xue, L., Parker, J.E., and Cui, .H*. (2023). Arabidopsis PAD4 promotes the maturation and nuclear accumulation of immune-related cysteine protease RD19. J. Exp. Bot. doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad454

Chai, J.*, Song, W., and Parker, J.E.*. (2023). HH Flor Distinguished Review: New biochemical principles for NLR immunity in plants. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 36: 468-475.doi/10.1094/MPMI-05-23-0073-HHps://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-05-23-0073-HH

Locci, F., Wang, J., and Parker, J.E.*.( 2023). TIR-domain enzymatic activities at the heart of plant immunity. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 74:102373. doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102373

Cao, Y., Kümmel, F., Logemann, E., Gebauer, J.M., Lawson, A.W., Yu, D., Uthoff, M., Keller, B., Jirschitzka, J., Baumann, U., Tsuda, K., Chai, J. and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2023) Structural polymorphisms within a common powdery mildew effector scaffold as a driver of coevolution with cereal immune receptors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.doi: 10.1073/pnas.2307604120

Crean, E.E., Bilstein-Schloemer, M., Maekawa, T., Schulze-Lefert, P. and Saur, I.M.L. (2023) A dominant-negative avirulence effector of the barley powdery mildew fungus provides mechanistic insight to barley MLA immune receptor activation. J Exp Bot.doi: 10.1093/jxb/erad285

Feehan, J.M., Wang, J., Sun, X., Choi, J., Ahn, H.K., Ngou, B.P.M., Parker, J.E., Jones, and J.D.G. (2023). Oligomerization of a plant helper NLR requires cell-surface and intracellular immune receptor activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 120, e2210406120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2210406120.

Johanndrees, O., Baggs, E.L., Uhlmann, C., Locci, F., Läßle, H.L., Melkonian, K., Käufer, K., Dongus, J.A., Nakagami, H., Krasileva, K.V., Parker, J.E, Lapin, D. (2023) Variation in plant Toll/Interleukin-1 receptor domain protein dependence on ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1  Plant Physiology, Volume 191, Issue 1, January 2023, Pages 626–642, https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiac480

Wang,J., Song, W., Chai, J. (2022) Structure, biochemical function and signaling mechanism of plant NLRs. Molecular Plant https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2022.11.011 (review)

Sun, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Chen, Z., Xia, Y., Wang, L., Sun, Y., Zhang, M., Xiao, Y., Han, Z., Wang, Y., & Chai, J. Plant receptor-like protein activation by a microbial glycoside hydrolase. Nature (2022). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05214-x

Förderer, A., Li, E., Lawson, A.W., Deng, Y., Sun, Y., Logemann, E., Zhang, X., Wen, J., Han, Z., Chang, J., Chen, Y., Schulze-Lefert, P., & Chai, J. A wheat resistosome defines common principles of immune receptor channels. Nature (2022) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05231-w

Huang S., Jia, A., Song, W., Hessler, G., Meng, Y., Sun, Y., Xu, L., Laessle, H., Jirschitzka, J., Ma, S., Xiao, Y., Yu, D., Hou, J., Liu, R., Sun, H., Liu, X., Han, Z., Chang, J., Parker, J.E., Chai, J. (2022) Identification and receptor mechanism of TIR-catalyzed small molecules in plant immunity. Science DOI: 10.1126/science.abq3297

Jia, A., Huang, S,. Song, W., Wang, J., Meng, Y,. Sun, Y., Xu, L., Laessle, H., Jirschitzka, J., Hou, J., Zhang, T., Yu, W., Hessler, G., Li, E., Ma, S., Yu, D., Gebauer, J., Baumann, U., Liu, X., Han, Z., Chang, J., Parker, J.E., Chai, J. (2022) TIR-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation reactions produce signaling molecules for plant immunity. Science 10.1126/science.abq8180

Lapin, D., Johanndrees, O., Wu, Z., Parker, J.E. (2022) Molecular innovations in plant TIR-based immunity signaling. The Plant Cell 2022: 00: 1-18 https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac035

Parker, J.E., Hessler, G., Cui, H. (2021) A new biochemistry connecting pathogen detection to induced defense in plants. New Phytologist https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17924

Pruitt, R.N., Locci, F., Wanke, F., Zhang, L., Saile, S.C., Joe, A., Karelina, D., Hua, C., Fröhlich, K., Wan, W.-L., Hu, M., Rao, S., Stolze, S.C., Harzen, A., Gust, A.A., Harter, K., Joosten, M.H.A.J., Thomma, B.P.H.J., Zhou, J.-M., Dangl, J.L., Weigel, D., Nakagami, H., Oecking, C., El Kasmi, F., Parker, J.E., & Nürnberger, T. (2021) EDS1–PAD4–ADR1 node mediates Arabidopsis pattern-triggered immunity. Nature.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03829-0

Bauer, S., Yu, D., Lawson, A.W., Saur, I.M.L., Frantzeskakis, L., Kracher, B., Logemann, E., Chai, J., Maekawa, T., Schulze-Lefert, P. (2021) The leucine-rich repeats in allelic barley MLA immune receptors define specificity towards sequence-unrelated powdery mildew avirulence effectors with a predicted common RNase-like fold. PLoS Pathog 17(2): e1009223. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009223

Mahdi, L.K., Huang, M., Zhang, X., Nakano, R.T., Kopp, L.B., Saur, I.M.L., Jacob, F., Kovacova, V., Lapin, D., Parker, J.E., Murphy, J.M., Hofmann, K., Schulze-Lefert, P., Chai, J., Maekawa, T. (2020) Discovery of a Family of Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-like Proteins in Plants and Their Role in Innate Immune Signaling. Cell Host & Microbe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2020.08.012

Sun, X., Lapin, D., Feehan, J.M., Stolze, S.C., Kramer, K., Dongus, J.A., Rzemieniewski, J., Blanvillain-Baufumé, S., Harzen, A., Bautor, J., Derbyshire, P., Menke, F.L.H., Finkemeier, I., Nakagami, H., Jones, J.D.G., & Parker, J.E.(2021) Pathogen effector recognition-dependent association of NRG1 with EDS1 and SAG101 in TNL receptor immunity.Nature Communications 12, Article number: 3335 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23614-x

Xing, Y., Xu, N., Bhandari, D.,D., Lapin, D., Sun, X., Luo, X., Wang, Y., Cao, J., Wang, H., Coaker, G., Parker, J.,E., Liu, J. Bacterial effector targeting of a plant iron sensor facilitates iron acquisition and pathogen colonization.The Plant Cell Koab075 https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab075

Zhao, C., Tang, Y., Wang. J., Zeng, Y., Sun, H., Zheng, Z., Su, R., Schneeberger, K., Parker, J.E., Cui, H. (2021) A mis‐regulated cyclic nucleotide‐gated channel mediates cytosolic calcium elevation and activates immunity in Arabidopsis. New Phytologistdoi:10.1111/nph.17218

Bauer, S., Yu, D., Lawson, A.W., Saur, I.M.L., Frantzeskakis, L., Kracher, B., Logemann, E., Chai, J., Maekawa, T., Schulze-Lefert, P. (2021) The leucine-rich repeats in allelic barley MLA immune receptors define specificity towards sequence-unrelated powdery mildew avirulence effectors with a predicted common RNase-like fold. PLoS Pathog 17(2): e1009223. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009223

Ma, S., Lapin, D., Liu, L., Sun, Y., Song, W., Zhang, X., Logemann, E., Yu, D., Wang, J., Jirschitzka, J., Han, Z., Schulze-Lefert, P., Parker, J.E., Chai, J. (2020) Direct pathogen-induced assembly of an NLR immune receptor complex to form a holoenzyme. Science Vol. 370, Issue 6521, eabe3069; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe3069

Bhandari, D.D., Lapin, D., Kracher, B., von Born, P., Bautor, J., Niefind. K., and Parker J.E. (2019). An EDS1 heterodimer signalling surface enforces timely reprogramming of immunity genes in Arabidopsis. Nat. Commun. 10, 722.

Heidrich, K., Wirthmueller, L., Tasset, C., Pouzet, C., Deslandes, L. and Parker, J.E. (2011). Arabidopsis EDS1 connects pathogen effector recognition to cell compartment-specific immune responses. Science 334, 1401-1404.

Hu, Z., Zhou, Q., Zhang, C., Fan, S., Cheng, W., Zhao, Y., Shao, F., Wang, H.W., Sui, S.F., and Chai, J. (2015). Structural and biochemical basis for induced self-propagation of NLRC4. Science 350, 399-404.

Maekawa, T., Cheng, W., Spiridon, L.N., Toller, A., Lukasik, E., Saijo, Y., Liu, P.Y., Shen, Q.H., Micluta, M.A., Somssich, I.E., …, Chai, J.,and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2011). Coiled-Coil Domain-Dependent Homodimerization of Intracellular Barley Immune Receptors Defines a Minimal Functional Module for Triggering Cell Death. Cell Host Microbe 9, 187-199.

Lu, X., Kracher, B., Saur, I.M.-L., Bauer, S., Ellwood, S.R., Wise, R., Yaeno, T., Maekawa, T., and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2016) Allelic barley MLA immune receptors recognize sequence-unrelated avirulence effectors of the powdery mildew pathogen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113, E6486–E6495.

Rietz, S., Stamm, A., Malonek, S., Wagner, S., Becker, D., Medina-Escobar, N., Vlot, A.C., Feys, B.J., Niefind, K., and Parker, J.E. (2011). Different roles of EDS1 bound to and dissociated from PAD4 in Arabidopsis immunity. New Phytol. 191, 107-119

Saur, I.M., Bauer, S., Kracher, B., Lu, X., Franzeskakis, L., Muller, M.C., Sabelleck, B., Kummel, F., Panstruga, R., Maekawa, T., and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2019). Multiple pairs of allelic MLA immune receptor-powdery mildew AVRA effectors argue for a direct recognition mechanism. Elife 8, e44471   

Wagner, S., Stuttmann, J., Rietz, S., Guerois, R., Brunstein, E., Bautor, J., Niefind, K., and Parker, J.E. (2013). Structural Basis for Signalling by Exclusive EDS1 Heteromeric Complexes with SAG101 or PAD4 in Plant Innate Immunity. Cell Host Microbe 14, 619-630.

Wang, J., Hu, M., Wang, J., Qi, J., Han, Z., Wang, G., Qi, Y., Wang, H.W., Zhou, J.M., and Chai, J. (2019). Reconstitution and structure of a plant NLR resistosome conferring immunity. Science 364, eaav5870.

Wang, J., Wang, J., Hu, M., Wu, S., Qi, J., Wang, G., Han, Z., Qi, Y., Gao, N., Wang, H.W.,… and Chai, J.(2019). Ligand-triggered allosteric ADP release primes a plant NLR complex. Science 364, eaav5868