OsSYMRK Plays an Essential Role in AM Symbiosis in Rice (Oryza sativa).

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi establish mutualistic symbiosis with a wide range of terrestrial plants, including rice. However, the mechanisms underlying the initiation of AM symbiosis are yet to be elucidated, particularly in nonleguminous plants. We previously demonstrated that chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (OsCERK1), a lysin motif receptor-like kinase essential for chitin-triggered immunity, also plays a key role in AM symbiosis in rice. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of switching between immunity and symbiosis by OsCERK1 are yet to be fully elucidated. SYMBIOSIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE (SYMRK)/DOES NOT MAKE INFECTIONS 2 (DMI2) is a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase associated with both root nodule symbiosis and AM symbiosis in legumes. The homolog of SYMRK in rice, OsSYMRK, has a shorter form than that in legumes because OsSYMRK lacks a malectin-like domain (MLD). The MLD reportedly contributes to symbiosis in Lotus japonicus; however, the contribution of OsSYMRK to AM symbiosis in rice remains unclear. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the MLD of SYMRK/DMI2 is widely conserved even in mosses and ferns but absent in commelinids, including rice. To understand the function of OsSYMRK, we produced an Ossymrk knockout mutant using genome editing technology. AM colonization was mostly abolished in Ossymrk with a more severe phenotype than Oscerk1. Ca2+ spiking against chitin tetramer was also diminished in Ossymrk. In contrast, comparable defense responses against chitin heptamer to the wild type were observed in Ossymrk. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation studies demonstrating an interaction between OsSYMRK and OsCERK1 indicate that OsSYMRK may play an important role in switching from immunity to symbiosis through the interaction with OsCERK1 in rice.

Variety-dependent accumulation of glucomannan in the starchy endosperm and aleurone cell walls of rice grains and its possible genetic basis.

Plant cell wall plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth/development and affects the quality of plant-derived food and industrial materials. On the other hand, genetic variability of cell wall structure within a plant species has not been well understood. Here we show that the endosperm cell walls, including both starchy endosperm and aleurone layer, of rice grains with various genetic backgrounds are clearly classified into two groups depending on the presence/absence of ß-1,4-linked glucomannan. All-or-none distribution of the glucomannan accumulation among rice varieties is very different from the varietal differences of arabinoxylan content in wheat and barley, which showed continuous distributions. Immunoelectron microscopic observation suggested that the glucomannan was synthesized in the early stage of endosperm development, but the synthesis was down-regulated during the secondary thickening process associated with the differentiation of aleurone layer. Significant amount of glucomannan in the cell walls of the glucomannan-positive varieties, i.e., 10% or more of the starchy endosperm cell walls, and its close association with the cellulose microfibril suggested possible effects on the physicochemical/biochemical properties of these cell walls. Comparative genomic analysis indicated the presence of striking differences between OsCslA12 genes of glucomannan-positive and negative rice varieties, Kitaake and Nipponbare, which seems to explain the all-or-none glucomannan cell wall trait in the rice varieties. Identification of the gene responsible for the glucomannan accumulation could lead the way to clarify the effect of the accumulation of glucomannan on the agronomic traits of rice by using genetic approaches.

OsCERK2/OsRLK10, a homolog of OsCERK1, has a potential role for chitin-triggered immunity and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in rice.

In rice, the lysin motif (LysM) receptor-like kinase OsCERK1, originally identified as the essential molecule for chitin-triggered immunity, plays a key role in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. As we previously reported, although AM colonization was largely repressed at 2 weeks after inoculation (WAI), arbuscules were observed at 5 WAI in oscerk1 mutant. Conversely, most mutant plants that defect the common symbiosis signaling pathway exhibited no arbuscule formation. Concerning the reason for this characteristic phenotype of oscerk1, we speculated that OsRLK10, which is a putative paralog of OsCERK1, may have a redundant function in AM symbiosis. The protein sequences of these two genes are highly conserved and it is estimated that the gene duplication occurred 150 million years ago. Here we demonstrated that OsCERK2/OsRLK10 induced AM colonization and chitin-triggered reactive oxygen species production in oscerk1 knockout mutant as similar to OsCERK1. The oscerk2 mutant showed a slight but significant reduction of AM colonization at 5 WAI, indicating the contribution of OsCERK2 for AM symbiosis. However, the oscerk2;oscerk1 double-knockout mutant produced arbuscules at 5 WAI as similar to the oscerk1 mutant, indicating that the redundancy of OsCERK1 and OsCERK2 did not explain the mycorrhizal colonization in oscerk1 at 5 WAI. These results indicated that OsCERK2 has a potential to regulate both chitin-triggered immunity and AM symbiosis and at least partially contributes to AM symbiosis in rice though the contribution of OsCERK2 appears to be weaker than that of OsCERK1.

Cytoplasmic interaction of LysM receptors contributes to the formation of symbiotic receptor complex.

Receptor complex formation at the cell surface is a key step to initiate downstream signaling but the contribution of this process for the regulation of the direction of downstream responses is not well understood. In the plant-microbe interactions, while CERK1, an Arabidopsis LysM-RLK, mediates chitin-induced immune responses, NFR1, a Lotus homolog of CERK1, regulates the symbiotic process with rhizobial bacteria through the recognition of Nod factors. Concerning the mechanistic insight of the regulation of such apparently opposite biological responses by the structurally related RLKs, Nakagawa et al. previously showed that the addition of YAQ sequence, conserved in NFR1 and other symbiotic LysM-RLKs, to the kinase domain of CERK1 switched downstream responses from defense to symbiosis using a set of chimeric receptors, NFR1-CERK1s. These results indicated that such a subtle difference in the cytoplasmic domain of LysM-RLKs could determine the direction of host responses from defense to symbiosis. On the other hand, it is still not understood how such structural differences in the cytoplasmic domains determine the direction of host responses. We here analyzed the interaction between chimeric NFR1s and NFR5, a partner receptor of NFR1, by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) of these proteins transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. These results indicated that the cytoplasmic interaction between the LysM-RLKs is important for the symbiotic receptor complex formation and the YAQ containing region of NFR1 contributes to trigger symbiotic signaling through the successful formation of NFR1/NFR5 complex.

Stomatal immunity against fungal invasion comprises not only chitin-induced stomatal closure but also chitosan-induced guard cell death.

Many pathogenic fungi exploit stomata as invasion routes, causing destructive diseases of major cereal crops. Intensive interaction is expected to occur between guard cells and fungi. In the present study, we took advantage of well-conserved molecules derived from the fungal cell wall, chitin oligosaccharide (CTOS), and chitosan oligosaccharide (CSOS) to study how guard cells respond to fungal invasion. In Arabidopsis, CTOS induced stomatal closure through a signaling mediated by its receptor CERK1, Ca2+, and a major S-type anion channel, SLAC1. CSOS, which is converted from CTOS by chitin deacetylases from invading fungi, did not induce stomatal closure, suggesting that this conversion is a fungal strategy to evade stomatal closure. At higher concentrations, CSOS but not CTOS induced guard cell death in a manner dependent on Ca2+ but not CERK1. These results suggest that stomatal immunity against fungal invasion comprises not only CTOS-induced stomatal closure but also CSOS-induced guard cell death.

Simultaneous visualization of callose deposition and plasma membrane for live-cell imaging in plants.

KEY MESSAGE: The appropriate combination of fluorescent probes enabled the simultaneous visualization of callose deposition and plasma membrane in living Arabidopsis and can be useful for the cell biological study of papilla formation in plants. Localized callose deposition at the site of fungal infection is a central part of papilla formation, which creates a barrier between the host plasma membrane and the cell wall and plays an important role in preventing the penetration of fungal hyphae into the host cells. Using chitin-induced callose deposition as a model system, we examined suitable conditions for the simultaneous visualization of callose deposition and plasma membrane dynamics in living Arabidopsis cotyledons. We found that aniline blue fluorochrome (ABF) for callose staining selectively interferes with FM dyes for membrane visualization depending on the structure of the latter compounds and the proper combination of these fluorescent dyes and staining conditions is a key for successful live-cell imaging. The established conditions enabled the live-cell imaging of chitin-induced callose deposition and host membrane systems. The established system/conditions would also be useful for the cell biological studies on the localized callose deposition in other stress/development-associated processes. The finding that the slight difference in the structure of FM dyes affects the interaction with another fluorescent dye, ABF, would also give useful suggestions for the studies where multiple fluorescent dyes are utilized for live-cell imaging.

Arabidopsis cell culture for comparable physiological and genetic studies.

Cell cultures established from various plant species have been used for a range of physiological and biochemical studies. Homogeneity of cell types and size of clusters in the cell culture often gave a clearer and simpler results compared to those obtained with the whole plant. On the other hand, possible variability of physiological conditions and responsiveness to external stimuli between the cell lines could be problematic for comparative studies. Aiming at combining the usefulness of plant cell culture with the rich information and genetic resources of Arabidopsis, we systemically examined the methods/conditions to establish cell lines for comparative studies, which could be applicable to a variety of genetic resources. Arabidopsis cell lines thus established from the meristem of mature seeds showed reproducible and comparable MAMP responses such as ROS generation and defense-related gene expression. MAMP responses of the cultured cells showed the specificity depending on the presence/absence of the corresponding MAMP receptor. Pharmacological study with a protein kinase inhibitor, K252a, also showed the usefulness of the cell culture for such studies. These results indicated the usefulness of the method to establish Arabidopsis cell lines, which are useful for comparative studies between genetic resources.

Affinity Labeling and Purification of Plant Chitin-Binding LysM Receptor with Chitin Octasaccharide Derivatives.

Lysin motif (LysM) is a carbohydrate-binding modules found in all kingdoms. LysM binds to N-acetylglucosamine-containing molecules such as peptidoglycan, chitin, Nod factor, and Myc factor and is found in peptidoglycan hydrolases, chitinases, and plant pathogen effectors and plant receptor/co-receptor for defense and symbiosis signaling. This chapter describes the synthesis of a nonradioactive chitin ligand, biotinylated chitin octasaccharide, (GlcNAc)8-Bio, and its application for the detection and characterization of chitin-binding LysM receptor CEBiP in the microsomal membrane fraction of rice suspension-cultured cells by affinity labeling. We also describe the purification of CEBiP from the plasma membrane of the rice cells by affinity chromatography with the synthesized (GlcNAc)8-APEA-CH-Sepharose as an affinity matrix.

PUB4, a CERK1-Interacting Ubiquitin Ligase, Positively Regulates MAMP-Triggered Immunity in Arabidopsis.

Lysin motif (LysM) receptor-like kinase CERK1 is a co-receptor essential for plant immune responses against carbohydrate microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Concerning the immediate downstream signaling components of CERK1, receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases such as PBL27 and other RLCK VII members have been reported to regulate immune responses positively. In this study, we report that a novel CERK1-interacting E3 ubiquitin ligase, PUB4, is also involved in the regulation of MAMP-triggered immune responses. Knockout of PUB4 resulted in the alteration of chitin-induced defense responses, indicating that PUB4 positively regulates reactive oxygen species generation and callose deposition but negatively regulates MAPK activation and defense gene expression. On the other hand, detailed analyses of a double knockout mutant of pub4 and sid2, a mutant of salicylic acid (SA) synthesis pathway, showed that the contradictory phenotype of the pub4 mutant was actually caused by abnormal accumulation of SA in this mutant and that PUB4 is a positive regulator of immune responses. The present and recent findings on the role of PUB4 indicate that PUB4 is a unique E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in the regulation of both plant immunity and growth/development.

AtCERK1 Phosphorylation Site S493 Contributes to the Transphosphorylation of Downstream Components for Chitin-Induced Immune Signaling.

While ligand-induced autophosphorylation of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) is known to be critical for triggering the downstream responses, biochemical mechanism by which each phosphorylation site contributes to the initiation of corresponding signaling cascades is only poorly understood, except the involvement of some phosphorylation sites in the regulation of catalytic activity of these RLKs. In this article, we first confirmed that the phosphorylation of S493 of AtCERK1 is involved in the regulation of chitin-induced defense responses by the complementation of an atcerk1 mutant with AtCERK1(S493A) cDNA. In vitro kinase assay with the heterologously expressed kinase domain of AtCERK1, GST-AtCERK1cyt, showed that the S493A mutation did not affect the autophosphorylation of AtCERK1 itself but diminished the transphosphorylation of downstream signaling components, PBL27 and PUB4. On the other hand, a phosphomimetic mutant, GST-AtCERK1(S493D)cyt, transphosphorylated these substrates as similar to the wild type AtCERK1. These results suggested that the phosphorylation of S493 does not contribute to the regulation of catalytic activity but plays an important role for the transphosphorylation of the downstream signaling components, thus contributing to the initiation of chitin signaling. To our knowledge, it is a novel finding that a specific phosphorylation site contributes to the regulation of transphosphorylation activity of RLKs. Further studies on the structural basis by which S493 phosphorylation contributes to the regulation of transphosphorylation would contribute to the understanding how the ligand-induced autophosphorylation of RLKs properly regulates the downstream signaling.

Handmade leaf cutter for efficient and reliable ROS assay.

Reactive oxygen species generation is one of the most popular index of plant immune responses. Leaf disk assay has been commonly used for MAMP/elicitor-induced ROS analysis by many groups. However, the reproducibility of the leaf disk assay relies on the skills of the people engaged in the experiments and the experiment itself seems not suitable for some plant species, which had a tough leaf structure and lower penetration efficiency of MAMPs/elicitors. In this study, we prepared a handmade leaf cutter to cut out the leaf fragments with uniform size and slits. The use of such fragments obtained by the new leaf cutter as well as the increase of the number of leaf fragments for each experiment improved the reliability and reproducibility of the leaf disk assay. This cutter was also successfully applied to rice leaf disk assay, indicating the applicability to other plant spices.

Autophosphorylation site Y428 is essential for the in vivo activation of CERK1.

Autophosphorylation of PRR is a critical event for the activation of immune signaling in plant. However, the detailed function of these phosphorylation sites is still not well understood. We analyzed the function of an autophosphorylation site of Arabidopsis CERK1, Y428, in immune signaling. Biochemical characterization of CERK1 mutants transiently expressed in N. benthamiana indicated that Y428 plays a crucial role for the in vivo activation of CERK1, differently from the previous observation by the in vitro kinase assay with its cytoplasmic domain. Similar discrepancy between in vitro and in vivo kinase assay was also reported for the corresponding phosphorylation site of EFR, suggesting that these conserved tyrosine residues play important roles for the activation of both RD and non-RD RLKs.

OsCERK1 plays a crucial role in the lipopolysaccharide-induced immune response of rice.

Plant cell surface receptor-like kinases (RLKs) mediate the signals from microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) that induce immune responses. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major constituent of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, is a common MAMP perceived by animals and plants; however, the plant receptors/co-receptors are unknown except for LORE, a bulb-type lectin S-domain RLK (B-lectin SD1-RLK) in Arabidopsis. OsCERK1 is a multifunctional RLK in rice that contains lysin motifs (LysMs) and is essential for the perception of chitin, a fungal MAMP, and peptidoglycan, a bacterial MAMP. Here, we analyzed the relevance of OsCERK1 to LPS perception in rice. Using OsCERK1-knockout mutants (oscerk1), we evaluated hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) production and gene expression after LPS treatment. We also examined the LPS response in knockout mutants for the B-lectin SD1-RLK genes in rice and for all LysM-protein genes in Arabidopsis. Compared with wild-type rice cells, LPS responses in oscerk1 cells were mostly diminished. By contrast, rice lines mutated in either of three B-lectin SD1-RLK genes and Arabidopsis lines mutated in the LysM-protein genes responded normally to LPS. From these results, we conclude that OsCERK1 is an LPS receptor/co-receptor and that the LPS perception systems of rice and Arabidopsis are significantly different.

Plant immunity and symbiosis signaling mediated by LysM receptors.

Plants possess the ability to recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) and PAMPs through the PRRs, and initiate pattern-triggered immunity. MAMPs are derived from cell-envelope components, secreted materials and cytosolic proteins from bacteria, oomycetes or fungi, and some MAMPs play a similar function in the innate immunity in mammals. Chitin is a representative fungal MAMP and triggers defense signaling in a wide range of plant species. The chitin receptors CEBiP and CERK1 on the plasma membrane have LysM (lysin motif) in their ectodomains. These molecules play an important role for the defense responses in rice and Arabidopsis, strictly recognizing the size and acetylated form of chitin oligosaccharides. However, related LysM receptors also play major roles for the signaling in root nodule and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. This review summarizes current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of the defense and symbiosis signaling mediated by LysM receptors, including the activation steps of chitin-induced defense signaling downstream of LysM receptors.

The rice LysM receptor-like kinase OsCERK1 is required for the perception of short-chain chitin oligomers in arbuscular mycorrhizal signaling.

The rice lysin-motif (LysM) receptor-like kinase OsCERK1 is now known to have a dual role in both pathogenic and symbiotic interactions. Following the recent discovery that the Oscerk1 mutant is unable to host arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, we have examined whether OsCERK1 is directly involved in the perception of the short-chain chitin oligomers (Myc-COs) identified in AM fungal exudates and shown to activate nuclear calcium (Ca2+ ) spiking in the rice root epidermis. An Oscerk1 knockout mutant expressing the cameleon NLS-YC2.60 was used to monitor nuclear Ca2+ signaling following root treatment with either crude fungal exudates or purified Myc-COs. Compared with wild-type rice, Ca2+ spiking responses to AM fungal elicitation were absent in root atrichoblasts of the Oscerk1 mutant. By contrast, rice lines mutated in OsCEBiP, encoding the LysM receptor-like protein which associates with OsCERK1 to perceive chitin elicitors of the host immune defense pathway, responded positively to Myc-COs. These findings provide direct evidence that the bi-functional OsCERK1 plays a central role in perceiving short-chain Myc-CO signals and activating the downstream conserved symbiotic signal transduction pathway.

Defense Against Pathogens: Structural Insights into the Mechanism of Chitin Induced Activation of Innate Immunity.

Pattern recognition receptors on the plant cell surface mediate the recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns, in a process which activates downstream immune signaling. These receptors are plasma membrane-localized kinases which need to be autophosphorylated to activate downstream responses. Perception of attacks from fungi occurs through recognition of chitin, a polymer of an N-acetylglucosamine which is a characteristic component of the cell walls of fungi. This process is regulated in Arabidopsis by chitin elicitor receptor kinase CERK1. A more complex process characterizes rice, in which regulation of chitin perception is operated by a complex composed of OsCERK1, a homolog of CERK1, and the chitin elicitor binding protein OsCEBiP. Recent literature has provided a mechanistic description of the complex regulation of activation of innate immunity in rice and an advance in the structural description of molecular players involved in this process. This review describes the current status of the understanding of molecular events involved in innate immunity activation in rice.

Autophosphorylation of Specific Threonine and Tyrosine Residues in Arabidopsis CERK1 is Essential for the Activation of Chitin-Induced Immune Signaling.

Pattern recognition receptors on the plant cell surface mediate the recognition of microbe/damage-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs/DAMPs) and activate downstream immune signaling. Autophosphorylation of signaling receptor-like kinases is a critical event for the activation of downstream responses but the function of each phosphorylation site in the regulation of immune signaling is not well understood. In this study, 41 Ser/Thr/Tyr and 15 Ser/Thr residues were identified as in vitro and in vivo autophosphorylation sites of Arabidopsis CERK1, which is essential for chitin signaling. Comprehensive analysis of transgenic plants expressing mutated CERK1 genes for each phosphorylation site in the cerk1-2 background indicated that the phosphorylation of T479 in the activation segment and Y428 located upstream of the catalytic loop is important for the activation of chitin-triggered defense responses. Contribution of the phosphorylation of T573 to the chitin responses was also suggested. In vitro evaluation of kinase activities of mutated kinase domains indicated that the phosphorylation of T479 and T573 is directly involved in the regulation of kinase activity of CERK1 but the phosphorylation of Y428 regulates chitin signaling independently of the regulation of kinase activity. These results indicated that the phosphorylation of specific residues in the kinase domain contributes to the regulation of downstream signaling either through the regulation of kinase activity or the different mechanisms, e.g. regulation of protein-protein interactions.

Evaluation of the Role of the LysM Receptor-Like Kinase, OsNFR5/OsRLK2 for AM Symbiosis in Rice.

In legume-specific rhizobial symbiosis, host plants perceive rhizobial signal molecules, Nod factors, by a pair of LysM receptor-like kinases, NFR1/LYK3 and NFR5/NFP, and activate symbiotic responses through the downstream signaling components also required for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. Recently, the rice NFR1/LYK3 ortholog, OsCERK1, was shown to play crucial roles for AM symbiosis. On the other hand, the roles of the NFR5/NFP ortholog in rice have not been elucidated, while it has been shown that NFR5/NFP orthologs, Parasponia PaNFR5 and tomato SlRLK10, engage in AM symbiosis. OsCERK1 also triggers immune responses in combination with a receptor partner, OsCEBiP, against fungal or bacterial infection, thus regulating opposite responses against symbiotic and pathogenic microbes. However, it has not been elucidated how OsCERK1 switches these opposite functions. Here, we analyzed the function of the rice NFR5/NFP ortholog, OsNFR5/OsRLK2, as a possible candidate of the OsCERK1 partner for symbiotic signaling. Inoculation of AM fungi induced the expression of OsNFR5 in the rice root, and the chimeric receptor consisting of the extracellular domain of LjNFR5 and the intracellular domain of OsNFR5 complemented the Ljnfr5 mutant for rhizobial symbiosis, indicating that the intracellular kinase domain of OsNFR5 could activate symbiotic signaling in Lotus japonicus. Although these data suggested the possible involvement of OsNFR5 in AM symbiosis, osnfr5 knockout mutants were colonized by AM fungi similar to the wild-type rice. These observations suggested several possibilities including the presence of functionally redundant genes other than OsNFR5 or involvement of novel ligands, which do not require OsNFR5 for recognition.

Quantitative Evaluation of Stomatal Cytoskeletal Patterns during the Activation of Immune Signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Historically viewed as primarily functioning in the regulation of gas and water vapor exchange, it is now evident that stomata serve an important role in plant immunity. Indeed, in addition to classically defined functions related to cell architecture and movement, the actin cytoskeleton has emerged as a central component of the plant immune system, underpinning not only processes related to cell shape and movement, but also receptor activation and signaling. Using high resolution quantitative imaging techniques, the temporal and spatial changes in the actin microfilament array during diurnal cycling of stomatal guard cells has revealed a highly orchestrated transition from random arrays to ordered bundled filaments. While recent studies have demonstrated that plant stomata close in response to pathogen infection, an evaluation of stimulus-induced changes in actin cytoskeletal dynamics during immune activation in the guard cell, as well as the relationship of these changes to the function of the actin cytoskeleton and stomatal aperture, remains undefined. In the current study, we employed quantitative cell imaging and hierarchical clustering analyses to define the response of the guard cell actin cytoskeleton to pathogen infection and the elicitation of immune signaling. Using this approach, we demonstrate that stomatal-localized actin filaments respond rapidly, and specifically, to both bacterial phytopathogens and purified pathogen elicitors. Notably, we demonstrate that higher order temporal and spatial changes in the filament array show distinct patterns of organization during immune activation, and that changes in the naïve diurnal oscillations of guard cell actin filaments are perturbed by pathogens, and that these changes parallel pathogen-induced stomatal gating. The data presented herein demonstrate the application of a highly tractable and quantifiable method to assign transitions in actin filament organization to the activation of immune signaling in plants.

Chitin-mediated plant-fungal interactions: catching, hiding and handshaking.

Plants can detect infecting fungi through the perception of chitin oligosaccharides by lysin motif receptors such as CEBiP and CERK1. A major function of CERK1 seems to be as a signaling molecule in the receptor complex formed with ligand-binding molecules and to activate downstream defense signaling. Fungal pathogens, however, have developed counter strategies to escape from the chitin-mediated detection by using effectors and/or changing their cell walls. Common structural features between chitin and Nod-/Myc-factors and corresponding receptors have suggested the close relationships between the chitin-mediated immunity and rhizobial/arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. The recent discovery of the dual function of OsCERK1 in both plant immunity and mycorrhizal symbiosis sheds new light on the evolutionary relationships between defense and symbiotic systems in plants.