Exploring fern pathosystems and immune receptors to bridge gaps in plant immunity.

ABSTRACT: Land plants include angiosperms, gymnosperms, bryophytes, lycophytes, and ferns, each of which may deploy distinct strategies to resist pathogens. Here, we investigate fern-pathogen interactions by characterizing novel pathosystems and analyzing the diversity of fern immune receptors. A collection of fern species was inoculated with a diverse set of filamentous microbes, and disease symptoms were assessed. We further leveraged published genome mining tools to analyse the diversity of RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASES, RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEINS (RLKs/RLPs) and NUCLEOTIDE-BINDING AND LEUCINE-RICH REPEATS (NLRs), along with key immune signalling components, in ferns. Our results reveal that ferns exhibit a range of responses to pathogens, including putative non-host resistance and more specific resistance m

SUBMITTER: Castel B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12512272 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature