Premium
The Brassica napus wall‐associated kinase‐like (WAKL) gene Rlm9 provides race‐specific blackleg resistance
Author(s) -
Larkan Nicholas J.,
Ma Lisong,
Haddadi Parham,
Buchwaldt Miles,
Parkin Isobel A.P.,
Djavaheri Mohammad,
Borhan M. Hossein
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.14966
Subject(s) - leptosphaeria maculans , blackleg , pathosystem , r gene , biology , gene , genetics , brassica , plant disease resistance , botany
SUMMARY In plants, race‐specific defence against microbial pathogens is facilitated by resistance ( R ) genes which correspond to specific pathogen avirulence genes. This study reports the cloning of a blackleg R gene from Brassica napus (canola), Rlm9 , which encodes a wall‐associated kinase‐like (WAKL) protein, a newly discovered class of race‐specific plant RLK resistance genes. Rlm9 provides race‐specific resistance against isolates of Leptosphaeria maculans carrying the corresponding avirulence gene AvrLm5‐9 , representing only the second WAKL‐type R gene described to date. The Rlm9 protein is predicted to be cell membrane‐bound and while not conclusive, our work did not indicate direct interaction with AvrLm5‐9. Rlm9 forms part of a distinct evolutionary family of RLK proteins in B. napus, and while little is yet known about WAKL function, the Brassica – Leptosphaeria pathosystem may prove to be a model system by which the mechanism of fungal avirulence protein recognition by WAKL‐type R genes can be determined.