Unveiling danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) sensing mechanisms in plants
Hiba Ghrissi (Spain)1 2; Klara Culjak (Spain)1 2; Marina Martín Dacal (Spain)1 2; Diego josé Díaz Berlanga (Spain)1 2; Miguel Ángel Torres (Spain)1 2; Antonio Molina (Spain)1 2; Lucía Jordá (Spain)1 2;
1 - Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (CBGP), Centro Severo Ochoa, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA/CSIC), Campus Montegancedo UPM, 28223-Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain.; 2 - Departamento de Biotecnología-Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, 28040-Madrid, Spain.;
Keywords: plant cell wall; pligosaccharides; pattern recognition receptors (PRR);
Abstract Topics: Theme 5: Cell Wall Proteins
Type of Presentation: Poster

Abstract text: Plants rely on a sophisticated immune system to combat constant pathogen attacks, and effective surveillance mechanisms are essential for their survival. A central component of this defence is pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), initiated by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that detect conserved microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) and endogenous damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Upon ligand recognition, by extracellular domains, PRRs activate phosphorylation-dependent signaling pathways that trigger hallmark PTI responses, including calcium influx, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, MAPK activation, and transcriptional reprogramming to restrict pathogen spread (DeFalco and Zipfel, 2021). However, the mechanisms by which carbohydrate-based DAMPs and MAMPs activate plant immunity remain poorly understood (Molina et al., 2024). Recently, isolation of Arabidopsis mutants impaired in glycan perception (igp) lead to the identification of a novel family of leucine-rich repeat and malectin (LRR-MAL) receptor kinases required for immune responses to cellulose-derived oligosaccharides, such as cellotriose (CEL3), and mixed- linkage β-glucans (MLGs), with IGP1 acting as a high-affinity receptor for CEL3 (Martín-Dacal et al., 2023; Jimenez-Sandoval et al., 2025). We have characterized three new igp mutants (igp14, igp17, and igp18) to uncover additional proteins involved in carbohydrate-mediated plant immunity providing deeper insights into this fundamental defensive mechanism of plants.