Research advances on plant lectin receptor-like kinases in abiotic stress response

Abstract

Plants are exposed to various stress during their growth and development, and abiotic stress is one of the most significant factors. Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) are widely present in plants that can quickly and effectively respond to stress, ultimately leading to a series of biological effects. Lectin receptor-like kinases (LecRLKs) belongs to a subfamily of RLKs, which consisting of three structural domains: extracellular lectin domain, transmembrane domain, and intracellular kinase domain. Based on the different types of extracellular lectin domains, LecRLKs can be classified into three subclasses: L, G and C types. In recent years, numerous studies have shown that plant lectin receptor-like kinases play a vital role in responses to abiotic stress. By recognizing abiotic stress-related signal molecules, LecRLKs can activate downstream signaling pathways, such as the MAPK pathway, the ROS pathway, the calcium signaling pathway, as well as to regulate gene expression and protein translation to enhance plant stress resistance. In this review, we summarize the structural characteristics and classification of LecRLKs. Meanwhile, the functions and mechanisms of LecRLKs in response to abiotic stress such as salt stress, low temperature stress, drought stress, mechanical damage and plant hormones are systematically reviewed. Furthermore, prospects are made for the future research directions of LecRLKs. This review not only provides new insights into the functions and mechanisms of LecRLKs in abiotic stress responses, but also provides a theoretical basis for using LecRLKs to improve crop resistance breeding.

Keywords

• plants
• receptor-like kinase
• lectin receptor-like kinase
• abiotic stress
• signal response
• mechanism of action