Lysin-motif receptor-like kinase PsK1 is involved in symbiosis initiation and the maintenance of infection thread (IT) growth and bacterial release in pea. We verified PsK1 specificity in relation to the Nod factor structure using k1 and rhizobial mutants. Inoculation with nodO and nodE nodO mutants significantly reduced root hair deformations, curling, and the number of ITs in k1-1 and k1-2 mutants. These results indicated that PsK1 function may depend on Nod factor structures. PsK1 with replacement in kinase domain and PsSYM10 co-production in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves did not induce a hypersensitive response (HR) because of the impossibility of signal transduction into the cell. Replacement of P169S in LysM3 domain of PsK1 disturbed the extracellular domain (ECD) interaction with PsSYM10's ECD in Y2H system and reduced HR during the co-production of full-length PsK1 and PsSYM0 in N. benthamiana. Lastly, we explored the role of PsK1 in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi; no significant differences between wild-type plants and k1 mutants were found, suggesting a specific role of PsK1 in legume⁻rhizobial symbiosis. However, increased sensitivity to a highly aggressive Fusarium culmorum strain was found in k1 mutants compared with the wild type, which requires the further study of the role of PsK1 in immune response regulation.
Keywords: Fusarium culmorum fungi; LysM receptor-like kinases; Nod factor perception; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; bacterial mutants; legume–Rhizobium symbiosis; pea Pisum sativum L..