Figure 1 | Scientific Reports

Figure 1

From: A chitin deacetylase from the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp. efficiently inactivates the elicitor activity of chitin oligomers in rice cells

Figure 1

Model for plant cell recognition of fungi containing chitin in their cell walls (a) and hypothetical fungal strategy to overcome recognition by the plant immune system (b). Chitin in the fungal cell wall, consisting of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units, is degraded by plant chitinases. The resulting chitin oligomers are binding to chitin-specific receptor subunits in the plant cell membrane, leading to dimerization and the triggering of immune responses. Secretion of chitin deacetylases by the fungus leads to partial deacetylation of these elicitor-active chitin oligomers into partially acetylated chitosan oligomers (paCOS). These paCOS can still bind to the monomeric receptor, preventing rather than allowing receptor dimerization, thus preventing the induction of defense reactions.

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