Membrane remodelling mediates lipopeptide-induced immunity in Arabidopsis PMID: 42010012

ADC Targets in Oncology

2026-04-10

Membrane remodelling mediates lipopeptide-induced immunity in Arabidopsis

Nat Plants. 2026 May;12(5):1034-1050. doi: 10.1038/s41477-026-02270-3.

Guillaume Gilliard ^# ¹ ² ³ , Jelena Pršić ^# ⁴ , Jean-Marc Crowet ⁵ , Catherine Chemotti ¹ , Jahed Ahmed ⁶ , Joseph Lorent ⁷ , Marie-Dominique Jolivet ⁸ , Sabrina Egli ⁹ , Stéphane Egée ¹⁰ , Guillaume Bouyer ¹⁰ , Gaëlle Race ⁴ , Lennard van Buren ¹¹ , Anke Van Den Berghe ¹¹ , Anthony Argüelles-Arias ⁴ , Marion Mathelié-Guinlet ¹² ¹³ , Heba Ibrahim ¹¹ ¹⁴ , Manon Genva ¹⁵ , Laetitia Fouillen ⁶ , Cécile Mirande-Bret ⁶ , Oihana Razin ⁶ , Brian Vue ⁶ , Milan Župunski ⁹ , W Patricio Luzuriaga-Loaiza ⁴ , Estelle Deboever ¹ ¹⁶ , M Nail Nasir ¹ ¹⁷ , Laurence Lins ¹ ¹⁸ , Patrick Van Der Smissen ¹⁹ , Farah Boubsi ⁴ , Sabine Eschrig ²⁰ , Véronique Germain ⁶ , Monica Höfte ²¹ , Cyril Zipfel ²² ²³ , Yves F Dufrêne ¹¹ , Donatienne Tyteca ¹⁹ , Alexandros Koutsioubas ²⁴ , Paola Brocca ² , Guido Grossmann ⁹ , Stefanie Ranf ²⁵ , Stephan Dorey ²⁶ , Barbara De Coninck ¹¹ , Thorsten Nürnberger ²⁷ , Sébastien Mongrand ⁶ , Julien Gronnier ⁸ , Valeria Rondelli ² , Magali Deleu ²⁸ , Marc Ongena ²⁹

Affiliations

1. Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at Interfaces, TERRA Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium.
2. Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Segrate, Italy.
3. Unité de Génie Enzymatique et Cellulaire, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France.
4. Microbial Processes and Interactions laboratory, TERRA Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium.
5. MAgICS, MEDyC, CNRS UMR 7369 UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France.
6. Laboratoire de Biogenèse Membranaire, University of Bordeaux, Villenave d'Ornon, France.
7. Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Translational Research from Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology to Treatment Optimization, Louvain Drug Research Institute, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
8. Plant Cell Biology, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.
9. Institute of Cell and Interaction Biology, CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
10. UMR8227 LBI2M Sorbonne Université-CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France.
11. Division of Plant Biotechnics, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven and KU Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium.
12. Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
13. University Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, Pessac, France.
14. Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-2, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
15. Laboratory of Chemistry of Natural Molecules, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium.
16. Eppendorf Application Technologies, Namur, Belgium.
17. Astel Medica, Soheit-Tinlot, Belgium.
18. Bio-Life, Isnes, Belgium.
19. CELL Unit, De Duve Institute, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
20. School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.
21. Laboratory of Phytopathology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
22. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
23. Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
24. Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Garching, Germany.
25. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
26. RIBP, UMR INRAE 1488, EXEBIO Institute, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France.
27. Centre of Plant Molecular Biology, Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
28. Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at Interfaces, TERRA Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium. [email protected].
29. Microbial Processes and Interactions laboratory, TERRA Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium. [email protected].
# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Bacteria-derived lipopeptides are immunogenic triggers of host defences in metazoans and Plants. Root-associated rhizobacteria produce cyclic lipopeptides that activate induced systemic resistance against microbial Infection in various plant species. Whether and how these molecules are perceived at the plant cell surface remains elusive. Here we reveal that immune activation in Arabidopsis thaliana by the Lipopeptide elicitor surfactin is mediated via a specific interaction with membrane sphingolipids. It relies on host membrane remodelling and subsequent activation of mechanosensitive ion channels. This mechanism leads to host defence potentiation and resistance to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea and appears distinct from pattern-triggered immunity induced by classical host Pattern Recognition Receptors. These results reveal a previously uncharacterized mechanism through which lipopeptides derived from non-pathogenic bacteria activate plant immune responses.