Discovery of functional NLRs using expression level, high-throughput transformation and large-scale phenotyping
Protecting crops from diseases is vital for the sustainable agricultural systems that are needed for food security. Introducing functional resistance genes to enhance the plant immune system is highly effective for disease resistance, but identifying new immune receptors is resource intensive. We observed that functional immune receptors of the nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) class show a signature of high expression in uninfected plants across both monocot and dicot species. Here, by exploiting this signature combined with high-throughput transformation, we generated a wheat transgenic array of 995 NLRs from diverse grass species to identify new resistance genes for wheat. Confirming this proof of concept, we identified new resistance genes against the stem rust pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici and the leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina, both major threats to wheat production. This pipeline facilitates the rapid identification of candidate NLRs and provides in planta gene validation of resistance. The accelerated discovery of new NLRs from a large gene pool of diverse and non-domesticated plant species will enhance the development of disease-resistant crops.
Authors
- Noriko Ishikawa
- Naoki Takemori
- Toshihiko Komari
- H. Peter van Esse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3667-060X)
- Hironobu Numazawa
- Chizu Yanagihara
- Antonín Dreiseitl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9137-3210)
- Kamil Witek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0659-5562)
- Oadi Matny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8447-2886)
- Inmaculada Hernández‐Pinzón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3711-2893)
- Amelia Hubbard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3666-2762)
- Toshiyuki Komori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8844-720X)
- Brian J. Steffenson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7961-5363)
- Matthew Moscou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2098-6818)
- Helen J. Brabham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7132-5011)
- Phon Green (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1968-0574)
- Alexis Feist
- Roger Freedman
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Kaneka (United States) (US)
- National Institute of Agricultural Botany (GB)
- Sainsbury Laboratory (GB)
- 2Blades Foundation (US)
- Japan Tobacco (Japan) (JP)
- Agricultural Research Institute Kromeriz (CZ)
- DSF Charitable Foundation (US)
- Cereal Disease Laboratory (US)
- Agrotest Fyto (Czechia)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Plants
- Published
- 2025-09-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02110-w
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.50
Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- University of Minnesota
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Agricultural Research Service