title: Intracellular innate immune surveillance devices in plants and animals.
abstract: Multicellular eukaryotes coevolve with microbial pathogens, which exert strong selective pressure on the immune systems of their hosts. Plants and animals use intracellular proteins of the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) superfamily to detect many types of microbial pathogens. The NLR domain architecture likely evolved independently and convergently in each kingdom, and the molecular mechanisms of pathogen detection by plant and animal NLRs have long been considered to be distinct. However, microbial recognition mechanisms overlap, and it is now possible to discern important key trans-kingdom principles of NLR-dependent immune function. Here, we attempt to articulate these principles. We propose that the NLR architecture has evolved for pathogen-sensing in diverse organisms because of its utility as a tightly folded "hair trigger" device into which a virtually limitless number of microbial detection platforms can be integrated. Recent findings suggest means to rationally design novel recognition capabilities to counter disease.
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Lab, Norwich Research Park, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. jonathan.jones@sainsbury-laboratory.ac.uk rvance@berkeley.edu dangl@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan D G
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and Cancer Research Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. jonathan.jones@sainsbury-laboratory.ac.uk rvance@berkeley.edu dangl@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Russell E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Vance
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA. jonathan.jones@sainsbury-laboratory.ac.uk rvance@berkeley.edu dangl@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffery L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dangl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007157:Immunologic Surveillance; D000070576:NLR Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D000072417:Protein Domains
chemical_list: D000070576:NLR Proteins