{"doi":"10.1111/pbi.70268","title":"Introducing Pattern Recognition Receptors in Potato Confers Enhanced Resistance to <scp> <i>Ralstonia solanacearum</i> </scp> but Not a Vector Borne Pathogen","abstract":"Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a major food crop that is vulnerable to various bacterial pathogens. A critical soil-borne bacterial pathogen is Ralstonia solanacearum (Rso), causing bacterial wilt that threatens potato production worldwide (Vailleau and Genin 2023). Another important pathogen is Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso), a vector-borne pathogen that is phloem-limited, causes Zebra Chip disease in potato and reduces tuber yield and quality (Wenninger and Rashed 2024). Plants defend against microbes using cell-surface pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that detect conserved microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) including flagellin epitopes and hydroxylated fatty acids (Li, Moreno-Pérez, and Coaker 2024). PRR distribution and recognition spectra vary across plants (Li, Moreno-Pérez, and Coaker 2024). FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2) is conserved and detects a 22-amino acid epitope flg22 from bacterial flagellin (Li, Moreno-Pérez, and Coaker 2024). Other PRRs, such as LIPOOLIGOSACCHARIDE-SPECIFIC REDUCED ELICITATION (LORE), that detect bacterial 3-hydroxylated fatty acids (3-OH-FAs), are restricted to Brassicaceae (Kutschera et al. 2019). Interspecies PRR transfer has potential for boosting or conferring novel immune perception to restrict pathogens. For example, the transfer of the PRR ELONGATION FACTOR Tu RECEPTOR (EFR) to tomato confers resistance against Rso (Li, Moreno-Pérez, and Coaker 2024; Lacombe et al. 2010). Tobacco expressing FLS2XL from wild grape enables recognition of polymorphic flagellin variants, resulting in enhanced resistance against Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Fürst et al. 2020). A recent preprint stacked two PRRs in potato recognising Pep-13 and nlp20, resulting in increased resistance against the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans (Ascurra et al. 2023). We sought to transfer two PRRs into cultivated potato enabling recognition and control of bacterial pathogens with distinct infection lifestyles. Screening the chipping cultivar ‘Atlantic’ with seven MAMPs revealed perception of Pseudomonas flg22 and chitin, but not elf18, csp22, 3-OH-FAs, Rso flg22 or Lso flg22 in juvenile plants (Figure 1a). To generate novel immune perception, we selected Arabidopsis thaliana LORE for its broad recognition of bacterial 3-OH-FAs (Kutschera et al. 2019), and Vitis riparia (riverbank grape) FLS2XL for its ability to detect polymorphic flg22 variants with similarity to Lso flg22 (Figure 1b) (Li, Bolaños, et al. 2024). However, FLS2XL cannot detect Rso flg22 (Li, Bolaños, et al. 2024). A dual PRR stack (LORE/FLS2XL) driven by separate medium-strength promoters was assembled using GAANTRY (Gene Assembly in Agrobacterium by Nucleic acid Transfer using Recombinase technologY) and introduced into ‘Atlantic’ (Figure 1c; Figure S1a) (Collier et al. 2018). Two independent LORE/FLS2XL transgenic lines perceived 3-hydroxydecanoic acid (3-OH-C10:0) and Lso flg22, respectively (Figure 1d). This indicates both PRRs function in potato. We then tested whether the LORE/FLS2XL stack enhances resistance to Rso (IBSBF1503 strain) by soil drench. Transgenic lines exhibited reduced disease index, higher survival probabilities and lower Rso titers in roots and stems compared to control plants (Figure 1e–g). While all roots had detectable levels of Rso, LORE/FLS2XL plants were more likely to have undetectable titers in stems (Figure 1g), suggesting restriction of bacterial movement from root to stem. However, once Rso breached this barrier, pathogen titers in stems of LORE/FLS2XL were similar to controls (Figure 1g). Cultivated potato and the FLS2XL receptor cannot perceive Ralstonia flg22 (Figure 1a), suggesting that LORE presence accounts for the resistance phenotype (Li, Bolaños, et al. 2024). Next, we evaluated whether LORE/FLS2XL could restrict Lso, which is transmitted by piercing-sucking psyllids (Bactericera cockerelli). During feeding, psyllids secrete watery saliva containing bacterial MAMPs. Although LORE/FLS2","journal":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","year":2025,"id":526576,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":3,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9547,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1402695,"name":"Filipe Sathler Meira","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402696,"name":"Esteban Jarquin Bolaños","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":987854,"name":"Bella Guel","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402697,"name":"Carmen S. Padilla","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402128,"name":"Kranthi K. Mandadi","orcid":"0000-0003-2986-4016","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402698,"name":"James G. Thomson","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402129,"name":"Stefanie Ranf","orcid":"0000-0003-2262-2938","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":233503,"name":"Gitta Coaker","orcid":"0000-0003-0899-2449","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":996234,"name":"Tianrun Li","orcid":"0000-0002-8589-4634","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":9,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:50:30.402772Z","pmid":"41319050","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}