Surface polysaccharides are important for bacterial interactions with multicellular organisms, and some are virulence factors in pathogens. In the legume-rhizobium symbiosis, bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) are essential for the development of infected root nodules. We have identified a gene in Lotus japonicus, Epr3, encoding a receptor-like kinase that controls this infection. We show that epr3 mutants are defective in perception of purified EPS, and that EPR3 binds EPS directly and distinguishes compatible and incompatible EPS in bacterial competition studies. Expression of Epr3 in epidermal cells within the susceptible root zone shows that the protein is involved in bacterial entry, while rhizobial and plant mutant studies suggest that Epr3 regulates bacterial passage through the plant's epidermal cell layer. Finally, we show that Epr3 expression is inducible and dependent on host perception of bacterial nodulation (Nod) factors. Plant-bacterial compatibility and bacterial access to legume roots is thus regulated by a two-stage mechanism involving sequential receptor-mediated recognition of Nod factor and EPS signals.

Peptide targets for synthesis are often desired with C-terminal end groups other than the more usual acid and amide functionalities. Relatively few routes exist for synthesis of C-terminal-modified peptidesincluding cyclic peptidesby either solution or solid-phase methods, and known routes are often limited in terms of ease and generality. We describe here a novel Backbone Amide Linker (BAL) approach, whereby the growing peptide is anchored through a backbone nitrogen, thus allowing considerable flexibility in management of the termini. Initial efforts on BAL have adapted the chemistry of the tris(alkoxy)benzylamide system exploited previously with PAL anchors. Aldehyde precursors to PAL, e.g. 5-(4-formyl-3,5-dimethoxyphenoxy)valeric acid, were reductively coupled to the α-amine of the prospective C-terminal amino acid, which was blocked as a tert-butyl, allyl, or methyl ester, or to the appropriately protected C-terminal-modified amino acid derivative. These reductive aminations were carried out either in solution or on the solid phase, and occurred without racemization. The secondary amine intermediates resulting from solution amination were converted to the 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected preformed handle derivatives, which were then attached to poly(ethylene glycol)−polystyrene (PEG-PS) graft or copoly(styrene−1% divinylbenzene) (PS) supports and used to assemble peptides by standard Fmoc solid-phase chemistry. Alternatively, BAL anchors formed by on-resin reductive amination were applied directly. Conditions were optimized to achieve near-quantitative acylation at the difficult step to introduce the penultimate residue, and a side reaction involving diketopiperazine formation under some circumstances was prevented by a modified protocol for Nα-protection of the second residue/introduction of the third residue. Examples are provided for the syntheses in high yields and purities of representative peptide acids, alcohols, N,N-dialkylamides, aldehydes, esters, and head-to-tail cyclic peptides. These methodologies avoid postsynthetic solution-phase transformations and are ripe for further extension.

Lipochitin oligosaccharides called Nod factors function as primary rhizobial signal molecules triggering legumes to develop new plant organs: root nodules that host the bacteria as nitrogen-fixing bacteroids. Here, we show that the Lotus japonicus Nod factor receptor 5 (NFR5) and Nod factor receptor 1 (NFR1) bind Nod factor directly at high-affinity binding sites. Both receptor proteins were posttranslationally processed when expressed as fusion proteins and extracted from purified membrane fractions of Nicotiana benthamiana or Arabidopsis thaliana. The N-terminal signal peptides were cleaved, and NFR1 protein retained its in vitro kinase activity. Processing of NFR5 protein was characterized by determining the N-glycosylation patterns of the ectodomain. Two different glycan structures with identical composition, Man 3 XylFucGlcNAc 4 , were identified by mass spectrometry and located at amino acid positions N68 and N198. Receptor-ligand interaction was measured by using ligands that were labeled or immobilized by application of chemoselective chemistry at the anomeric center. High-affinity ligand binding was demonstrated with both solid-phase and free solution techniques. The K d values obtained for Nod factor binding were in the nanomolar range and comparable to the concentration range sufficient for biological activity. Structure-dependent ligand specificity was shown by using chitin oligosaccharides. Taken together, our results suggest that ligand recognition through direct ligand binding is a key step in the receptor-mediated activation mechanism leading to root nodule development in legumes.lysin motif proteins | plant-microbe interactions | symbiotic signalling | lysin motif receptor-like kinase | non-self recognition F ormation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules relies on an intriguing signal exchange between the legume host and the bacterial microsymbiont (1). In this two-way exchange, Nod factors synthesized by rhizobia function as central signal molecules, which induce early physiological responses, gene expression, and cell division in susceptible legumes (1-3). In root cells of the legume hosts, perception is mediated by Nod factor receptors (NFRs) containing ectodomains with three lysin motif (LysM) modules and cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinase domains (4-9). Mutant studies in the model legumes Lotus japonicus (Lotus) and Medicago truncatula (Medicago) as well as the crop legumes soybean (10, 11) and pea (5, 6) have shown that NFRs are required for nodulation. Mutant analysis in Lotus identified two NFRs, NFR1 and NFR5, and phenotypic analysis showed that both nfr1 and nfr5 mutants are equally impaired in nodule initiation (4, 5). In Medicago, only mutation of the Nfr5 ortholog, Nfp, results in a nonnodulating phenotype, whereas the Nfr1 homolog Lyk3 is required for progression of infection threads (7-9, 12).The earliest plant responses to Nod factor, such as membrane depolarization, cytoplasmic alkalinization, calcium fluxes, calcium spiking, and root hair deformation (3, 13), are either strongly at...

The highly refined organic chemistry in solid-phase synthesis has made it the method of choice not only to assemble peptides but also small proteins - mainly on a laboratory scale but increasingly also on an industrial scale. While conductive heating occasionally has been applied to peptide synthesis, precise microwave irradiation to heat the reaction mixture during coupling and N(α)-deprotection has become increasingly popular. It has often provided dramatic reductions in synthesis times, accompanied by an increase in the crude peptide purity. Microwave heating has been proven especially relevant for sequences which might form β-sheet type structures and for sterically difficult couplings. The beneficial effect of microwave heating appears so far to be due to the precise nature of this type of heating, rather than a peptide-specific microwave effect. However, microwave heating as such is not a panacea for all difficulties in peptide syntheses and the conditions may need to be adjusted for the incorporation of Cys, His and Asp in peptides, and for the synthesis of, for example, phosphopeptides, glycopeptides, and N-methylated peptides. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the advances in microwave heating for peptide synthesis, with a focus on systematic studies and general protocols, as well as important applications. The assembly of β-peptides, peptoids and pseudopeptides are also evaluated in this critical review (254 references).