Cytoplasmic calcium influx mediated by Lr14a regulates stomatal immunity against leaf rust in wheat
The wheat race-specific resistance gene Lr14a encodes an ankyrin-repeat transmembrane domain protein that confers immunity against the fungal pathogen Puccinia triticina, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, using a range of biological systems and methods, we show that Lr14a functions as a Ca²⁺-permeable channel crucial for leaf rust resistance in wheat. Interestingly, we also found that the pathogen-inducible expression of Lr14a triggers guard cell hypersensitive response (HR) non-cell autonomously as a mechanism to control pathogen entry. Our results suggest that Lr14a regulates stomatal immunity non-cell autonomously through the mediation of calcium signaling.
Authors
- Matthias Heuberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3283-9233)
- Álvaro D. Fernández-Fernández (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-9757)
- Uwe Ludewig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5456-1055)
- Cyril Zipfel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4935-8583)
- Gijeong Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3147-7317)
- Gerhard Herren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3963-4815)
- Beat Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2379-9225)
- Benjamin Neuhäuser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2391-0598)
- Songyuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9837-098X)
- Y Goto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3616-320X)
- Esther Jung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7470-2967)
- Limin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9618-9239)
- Lili Yue
Institutions
- University of Hohenheim (DE)
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Sainsbury Laboratory (GB)
- Institute of Plant Biology (HU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Current Biology
- Published
- 2025-11-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.033
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.75