A wheat tandem kinase and NLR pair confers resistance to multiple fungal pathogens

Ping Lu; G. Zhang; Jing Li; Zhen Hui Gong; Gaojie Wang; Lingli Dong; Huaizhi Zhang; Guanghao Guo; Min Su; Ke Wang; Yueming Wang; Keyu Zhu; Qiuhong Wu; Yongxing Chen; Miaomiao Li; Baoge Huang; Beibei Li; Wenling Li; Lei Dong; Yikun Hou; Xuejia Cui; Hongkui Fu; Dan Qiu; Chengguo Yuan; Hongjie Li; Jian‐Min Zhou; Guan‐Zhu Han; Yuhang Chen; Zhiyong Liu

doi:10.1126/science.adp5469

Plant BiologyScienceMar 27, 2025

Peer-reviewed journal article

A wheat tandem kinase and NLR pair confers resistance to multiple fungal pathogens

Ping Lu iD, G. Zhang iD, Jing Li iD, Zhen Hui Gong iD, Gaojie Wang iD, Lingli Dong iD, Huaizhi Zhang iD, Guanghao Guo iD, Min Su iD, Ke Wang iD, Yueming Wang iD, Keyu Zhu iD, Qiuhong Wu iD, Yongxing Chen iD, Miaomiao Li iD, Baoge Huang, Beibei Li iD, Wenling Li iD, Lei Dong iD, Yikun Hou iD, Xuejia Cui, Hongkui Fu iD, Dan Qiu iD, Chengguo Yuan, Hongjie Li iD, , Zhiyong Liu iD

Abstract

Recently discovered tandem kinase proteins (TKPs) are pivotal to the innate immune systems of cereal plants, yet how they initiate plant immune responses remains unclear. This report identifies the wheat protein WTN1, a non-canonical NLR receptor featuring tandem NB-ARC domains, as crucial for WTK3-mediated disease resistance. Both WTK3 and its allelic variant Rwt4, known for conferring resistance to wheat powdery mildew and blast respectively, are capable of recognizing the blast effector PWT4, and activate WTN1 to form calcium-permeable channels, akin to ZAR1 and Sr35. This study unveils a unique plant defense mechanism wherein TKPs and associated NLRs operate as "sensor-executor" pairs against fungal pathogens. Additionally, evolutionary analyses reveal a co-evolutionary trajectory of the TKP-NLR module, highlighting their synergistic role in triggering plant immunity. One Sentence SummaryAn ancient synergistic TKP-NLR pair triggers innate immunity for multiple disease resistance in wheat.

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