The role of LysM protein in plant immunity

Lysin motif (LysM) is a ubiquitous domain in multiple proteins. LysM-containing proteins in plants have the ability of sensing chitin or its oligosaccharides, thereby initiating plant immune responses to pathogens. During the immune response process in plants such as rice and Arabidopsis, LysM-containing proteins work as an important pattern recognition receptor through diverse forms of oligomerization, and then trigger cytoplasmic receptor-like kinases, and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades for signal transduction. Meanwhile, reversible protein phosphorylation and protein degradation pathway could negatively regulate the LysM-containing proteins-mediated defense signal transduction. This paper reviews the molecular mechanism underlying the LysM-mediated signal transduction implemented during plant immunity.