title: Detection of the plant parasite Cuscuta reflexa by a tomato cell surface receptor.
abstract: Parasitic plants are a constraint on agriculture worldwide. Cuscuta reflexa is a stem holoparasite that infests most dicotyledonous plants. One exception is tomato, which is resistant to C. reflexa We discovered that tomato responds to a small peptide factor occurring in Cuscuta spp. with immune responses typically activated after perception of microbe-associated molecular patterns. We identified the cell surface receptor-like protein CUSCUTA RECEPTOR 1 (CuRe1) as essential for the perception of this parasite-associated molecular pattern. CuRe1 is sufficient to confer responsiveness to the Cuscuta factor and increased resistance to parasitic C. reflexa when heterologously expressed in otherwise susceptible host plants. Our findings reveal that plants recognize parasitic plants in a manner similar to perception of microbial pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hegenauer
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fürst
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smoker
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zipfel
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Felix
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. markus.albert@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albert
mesh_terms: D034182:Cuscuta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D005030:Ethylenes; D010455:Peptides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010940:Plant Proteins; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition; C036216:ethylene