Novel receptor-like protein kinases induced by Erwinia carotovora and short oligogalacturonides in potato

summary Identification of potato genes responsive to cell wall-degrading enzymes of Erwinia carotovora resulted in the isolation of cDNA clones for four related receptor-like protein kinases. One of the putative serine-threonine protein kinases might have arisen through alternative splicing. These potato receptor-like kinases (PRK1-4) were highly equivalent (91–99%), most likely constituting a family of related receptors. All PRKs and four other plant RLKs share in their extracellular domain a conserved bi-modular pattern of cysteine repeats distinct from that in previously characterized plant RLKs, suggesting that they represent a new class of receptors. The corresponding genes were rapidly induced by E. carotovora culture filtrate (CF), both in the leaves and tubers of potato. Furthermore, the genes were transiently induced by short oligogalacturonides. The structural identity of PRKs and their induction pattern suggested that they constitute part of the early response of potato to E. carotovora infection.