2. Elicitors
• Elicitors are signal molecules that elicit
defense mechanisms in plants (Scheel and
Parker,1990)
• When fungal cell wall comes in contact with
plant cell, elicitors are released and bind with
receptor molecules results in induction of
defense mechanism
5. Host Plant Receptors
• The location of host receptors that recognize pathogen elicitors
is not generally known
• but several of those studied appear to exist outside or on the
cell membrane,whereas others apparently occur intracellularly.
• Eg. powdery mildew of cereals, a soluble carbohydrate that
acts as an elicitor from the wheat powdery mildew fungus
Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici
• The elicitor alone, in absence of the powdery mildew fungus,
did not induce a hypersensitive response
7. A Model for Defense Gene Induction
(From work in T. Boller’s lab)
Late Defense Genes
TF
Inactive TF Active TF
Signal Transduction
Early Defense Genes
Flag22
FLS2
(LRR)
(Kinase)
(MAPK6)
8. • elicitor with its putative receptor as a two-step process. Binding of the N
terminus is presented as the first step, and activation by the C terminus is
the second step
Model for the Interaction of Flagellin with Its Receptor.
9. R gene Crop Binding site Function
RPW8
Pto
Cf-2–Cf-9
Xa21
RPM1,
RPS2
Arabidopsis
Tomato
Tomato
Rice
Arabidopsis
Cell membrane
Cell membrane
Plant Cell wall
Plant Cell wall
Cell Cytoplasm
Membrane–associated, transcription
regulating, mediating broad-
spectrum resistance
Cytoplasmic signal-transducing
serine–threonine protein kinase
Extracellular LRRs with
transmembrane anchor
Extracellular LRRs, with a
transmembrane receptor and a
cytoplasmic serine–threonine kinase
cytoplasmic, membrane associated.
Contain LRRs, NBS, and a coiled
coil domain
10.
11. Oligopeptide elicitor and Oligosaccharide elicitor-binding
protein
Phytophthora megasperma f.sp. glycinea (Pep-13)
its binding site in microsomal and plasma membrane
91-kDa protein identified in parsley membranes is the
oligopeptide elicitor receptor mediating activation of a
multicomponent defense response.
The first report on the identification of an elicitor binding
site implicated a 70-kDa protein from soybean microsomal
membranes to be a constituent of a heptaglucan elicitor
receptor,
12. Microbial elicitors and their receptors in plants
Hepta beta –glucoside –binding proteins
• mycelial walls of Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea
• Binding site-soybean microsomal membranes.
Oligochitin elicitors-binding proteins
• Rhizobium leguminosarum
• Binding site-membranes of tomato and rice
Glycoprotein elicitor-binding proteins
• Puccinia graminis f.sp.tritici
• Glycoprotein elicitor-binding site in wheat have not yet been
reported