Decoding Receptor-Mediated Recognition: Comparative Study of PRR and NLR Functions in Host Resistance to Plant Pathogens

Plants live in environments teeming with both beneficial organisms and harmful pathogens. Central to their survival is the sophisticated molecular dialogue that orchestrates the plant immune response—particularly the receptor-mediated recognition of microbial invaders. Recent research has highlighted two pivotal branches of this recognition system: the plasma membrane-localized Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) that detect conserved bacterial motifs such as flagellin, and the intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) that sense specific oomycete effectors.

This Research Topic aims to compile comprehensive studies that compare and contrast these two immune recognition strategies. While substantial work has unraveled the individual roles of PRRs and NLRs, a targeted comparative analysis emphasizing both the mechanistic and functional differences in these pathways is still lacking. By investigating how plants deploy PRRs to mount a rapid, broad-spectrum defense against bacterial invaders and how NLRs trigger a more tailored and robust response to oomycete challenges, this collection seeks to bridge current knowledge gaps and illuminate the nuances of receptor-specific signaling.

The molecular interplay involved in receptor-mediated recognition is complex and highly dynamic. On one hand, PRRs activate a cascade of defense responses—ranging from reactive oxygen species production to callose deposition—upon sensing conserved bacterial epitopes. On the other hand, NLRs often trigger localized cell death and systemic signaling events upon effectors’ recognition, acting as a decisive second line of defense. Understanding how these pathways are modulated, cross-communicate, and evolve under the pressure of diverse pathogens is key to developing innovative strategies for crop protection and sustainable agriculture.

Despite significant advances in isolating the molecular components underlying PTI and ETI, a comprehensive, cross-taxa perspective that integrates these distinct receptor systems remains a frontier in plant pathology research. This Research Topic invites contributions that explore themes such as:

- Mechanistic Dissection of PRR and NLR Signaling: Studies that elucidate the distinct and overlapping signaling cascades activated by bacterial flagellin recognition versus oomycete elicitin detection.

- Comparative Functional Analyses: Research comparing the temporal dynamics, strength, and downstream impact of PRR-mediated versus NLR-mediated immune responses.

- Evolutionary and Structural Perspectives: Investigations into how evolutionary pressures have shaped the diversity and specialization of PRRs and NLRs across different plant species.

- Translational Approaches: Articles focusing on how insights into these receptor systems can be harnessed to engineer crops with enhanced and broad-spectrum disease resistance.

- Understanding the molecular frameworks that govern these receptor-mediated mechanisms is essential not only for advancing our basic knowledge of plant immunity but also for developing novel, integrative approaches to crop protection.

We encourage researchers to contribute original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and methods papers that address these themes, with the goal of fostering innovative and sustainable strategies to manage plant disease in an increasingly challenging environment.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: plant immunity, pattern recognition receptors (prrs), nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (nlrs), flagellin, elicitins

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.