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Activation mechanism of the wheat CCG10-NLR immune receptor

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  • State Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Received date: 2026-03-31

  Online published: 2026-03-31

Supported by

National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFF1001503);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFF1002800);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U21A20224)

Abstract

Plants rely on nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors to recognize effector proteins, activating immune responses. In recent years, researchers have elucidated the structures of various plant NLR resistosomes. However, the activation mechanism of the evolutionarily ancient and widely distributed CCG10-NLR phylogenetic clade has remained elusive. To investigate this scientific question, the research group led by Zhiyong Liu from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with multiple research groups, identified the wheat spontaneous immunity gene wheat autoimmunity 3 (WAI3), which encodes a CCG10-NLR protein. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) analysis reveals that that activated WAI3 assembles into a distinctive octameric resistosome, which triggers sustained calcium influx. The homologous CCG10-NLR protein RPS2 in Arabidopsis was also shown to form an octamer and induce calcium influx, indicating that this mechanism is conserved in both monocot and dicot plants. Furthermore, the WAI3 resistosome exhibits a unique conformation of the coiled-coil (CC) domain, which may be associated with the absence of the EDVID (Glu-Asp-Val-Ile-Asp) motif in the CC domain of CCG10-NLRs. This study reveals a novel mechanism of resistosome assembly and immune signal transduction in plant CCG10-NLR proteins, broadening the understanding of the diversity and plasticity of plant immune receptors.

Cite this article

Guanghao Guo, Zhiyong Liu . Activation mechanism of the wheat CCG10-NLR immune receptor[J]. Hereditas(Beijing), 2026 , 48(5) : 447 -450 . DOI: 10.16288/j.yczz.26-082

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