The ATHE/MEE39 Receptor Kinase Mediates Cell Wall Integrity Surveillance During Vascular Pathogen Infection in Complex with MIK2
Marina Martín-Dacal (Spain)1; Juan Carlos Montesinos (Spain)2 3; Hsin-Yao Huang (Switzerland)2; Gloria Sancho-Andrés (Switzerland)2; Fortesa Rama (Switzerland)2; Laura Carrillo (Spain)1; Anurag Kashyap (India)4 5; Álvaro Jiménez-Jiménez (Spain)4; Francisco M. Gámez-Arjona (Spain)2 6; Caroline Broyart (Switzerland)7; Huanjie Yang (Sweden)8 9; Nuria S. Coll (Spain)4; Julia Santiago (Switzerland)7; Cyril Zipfel (Switzerland)8; Clara Sánchez-Rodríguez (Spain)2 1;
1 - Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA/CSIC), 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.; 2 - Department of Biology, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, ETH Zurich, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland.; 3 - Present address: Instituto Universitario de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universitat de València, 46100 Burjassot, Spain.; 4 - Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.; 5 - Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, Assam Agricultural University, 785013, Jorhat, Assam, India.; 6 - Present address: Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) and Universidad de Sevilla, Seville 41092, Spain; 7 - Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; 8 - Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland.; 9 - Present address: Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 22 Lomma, Sweden.;
Keywords: Cell wall integrity signaling; Receptor kinase complex; Plant–vascular fungal pathogen interaction;
Abstract Topics: Theme 9: Cell Wall Function and Signaling in plant adaptation to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses
Type of Presentation: Oral Communication
Abstract text:
Plant cell wall (CW) integrity signaling enables early detection of microbial invasion, yet the receptors involved and their spatial and temporal dynamics during infection remain largely unknown. We identify ATHENA (ATHE)/MEE39, a malectin-like LRR receptor kinase that contributes to Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) defense, particularly in outer root layers where colonization begins. ATHE abundance, localization, and endocytic trafficking are rapidly remodeled during infection, and loss of ATHE compromises early immunity and pathogen-induced transcriptional reprogramming. ATHE responds to altered cellulose synthesis, cellulose-derived oligosaccharides, mechanically induced CW perturbations, and the fungal peptide Fo-RALF, acting through an infection-induced partnership with the receptor kinase MIK2. ATHE and MIK2 form a pathogen-strengthened receptor complex that fine-tunes root responses to Fo and represents the first defense receptor complex visualized subcellularly in vivo during a plant-microbe interaction. Although Brassicaceae-specific, heterologous ATHE expression enhanced tomato resistance, highlighting its functional relevance across plant lineages. Our work reveals a previously unrecognized strategy by which plants decode microbial threats through dynamic CW-integrity surveillance.