This research identifies a crucial wheat protein pair, WTK3 and WTN1, that together provide resistance against multiple fungal pathogens. The tandem kinase WTK3 acts as a sensor by recognizing pathogen molecules, which then triggers the NLR receptor WTN1 to form calcium channels, initiating an immune response in the plant. The study further demonstrates that allelic variations of WTK3, like Rwt4, also function similarly, and that this kinase-NLR module has co-evolved in cereal plants to combat disease. This discovery illuminates a key mechanism of plant immunity with implications for breeding disease-resistant wheat.
Science: A wheat tandem kinase and NLR pair confersresistance to multiple fungal pathogens
