A novel class of eukaryotic zinc-binding proteins is required for disease resistance signaling in barley and development in C. elegans

Cell. 1999 Nov 12;99(4):355-66. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81522-6.

Abstract

Barley Rar1 is a convergence point in the signaling of resistance to powdery mildew, triggered by multiple race-specific resistance (R) genes. Rar1 is shown to function upstream of H2O2 accumulation in attacked host cells, which precedes localized host cell death. We isolated Rar1 by map-based cloning. The sequence of the deduced 25.5 kDa protein reveals two copies of a 60-amino acid domain, CHORD, conserved in tandem organization in protozoa, plants, and metazoa. CHORD defines a novel eukaryotic Zn2+-binding domain. Silencing of the C. elegans CHORD-containing gene, chp, results in semisterility and embryo lethality, suggesting an essential function of the wild-type gene in nematode development. Our findings indicate that plant R genes have recruited a fundamental cellular control element for signaling of disease resistance and cell death.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / growth & development
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology*
  • Carrier Proteins / classification
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / physiology*
  • Cell Death
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Eukaryotic Cells
  • Genes, Plant
  • Hordeum / genetics
  • Hordeum / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / metabolism
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Plant Diseases
  • Plant Proteins*
  • RNA Splicing
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Toxoplasma / genetics
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Zinc*

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Plant Proteins
  • Rar1 protein, Hordeum vulgare
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Zinc

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AF192261
  • GENBANK/AF192262
  • GENBANK/AF192263
  • GENBANK/AF192264
  • GENBANK/AF192465
  • GENBANK/AF192466
  • GENBANK/AF192467