Plants deploy a diverse array of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which perceive microbe-associated molecular patterns to activate immune responses. Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase subgroup XII (LRR-RLK-XII) represents one of the largest PRR families owing to lineage-specific diversification. Through bioinformatics and synthetic biology approaches, we characterized LRR-RLK-XIIs from 285 plant species and identified a receptor, “SCORE,” that perceives cold shock protein (CSP) peptides. SCORE orthologs from multiple angiosperm lineages exhibit CSP recognition polymorphisms, indicating recurrent selection for pathogen recognition through substitutions at key amino acid residues. Through functional phylogenomics and protein structure predictions, we engineered SCORE variants capable of detecting multiple phytopathogen CSP peptides, thus revealing the diverse PRR recognition landscape in plants. Our strategy holds promise for engineering plant immune receptors, particularly for perennial crops.
Ngou et al. (2025) studied this question.