A joint research team led by LI Lei at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, toether with TIAN Zhixi from the Yazhouwan National Laboratory, has identified a soybean phytocytokine–receptor module that confers broad-spectrum disease resistance. The findings were published in Nature Plants on August 19.

Plant genomes encode thousands of secreted small peptides (SSPs), which regulate multiple aspects of plant life activities ranging from development to defense responses. Many SSPs are perceived by membrane-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), among which leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases (LRR-RKs) are one of the largest receptor families.

Through comprehensive peptide-receptor matching, the researchers identified 63 pairs of small peptide-receptor pairs in soybean. Among them, the immune-regulatory phytocytokines GmPEP914 and GmPEP890 were found to activate strong immune responses and inhibit the infection of various pathogens, and their functions are mediated by the identified receptors GmP98R1 and GmP98R2. 

Artificial intelligence-based structural modeling and biochemical assay analysis confirmed that both peptides directly bind to the GmP98R receptor with nanomolar-level affinity. The PEP914-P98R module is highly conserved in leguminous plants and cucurbitaceous plants, indicating the importance of its function and evolution.

This study establishes a scalable and systematic strategy for identifying peptide-receptor pairs and clarified the key role of the PEP914-P98R module in soybean disease resistance. The small peptides GmPEP914/GmPEP890 are expected to provide a new type of biopesticide in the future, addressing issues such as the residue of chemical pesticides, which may cause environmental problems, and the development of drug resistance in pathogens.

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.