A leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase (LRPKm1) gene is induced in Malus x domestica by Venturia inaequalis infection and salicylic acid treatment

A cDNA clone encoding a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptor-like protein kinase (LRPKm1) of Malus x domestica cv. Florina has been isolated using as a heterologous probe a cloned gene encoding a polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein (PGIP) of Phaseolus vulgaris L. A genomic clone containing the 5'-regulatory region and a 5' portion of the open reading frame of the LRPKm1 gene has also been isolated. An open reading frame of 2997 nt (999 amino acids) was present in the cDNA clone, encoding a receptor-like protein comprising a 21 amino acid signal peptide for secretion, a leucine zipper, 23 LRRs, a putative membrane-spanning region and a serine/threonine protein kinase domain. LRPKm1 shows homology to the A. thaliana receptor-like protein kinase RLK5 and, to a minor extent, to PGIP. The LRPKm1 region from +5 to +600 exhibits an alternative reading frame that encodes a product corresponding to a proline-rich protein fragment homologous to several hydroxyproline-rich proteins. Southern blot analysis showed that LRPKm1 belongs to a multigene family and that there is length polymorphism of the hybridizing restriction fragments among different M. x domestica cultivars. Northern blot analysis was carried out on mRNA extracted from infected leaves of either cv. Florina (resistant to Venturia inaequalis) or cv. Golden Delicious (susceptible to V. inaequalis), and from tissues treated with salicylic acid. A 3500 bp transcript hybridizing at high stringency with the LRPKm1 cDNA accumulated in response to infection or salicylic acid treatment. Transcript accumulation was more intense in the incompatible interaction than in the compatible one. The possible involvement of this receptor-like protein kinase in resistance of apple to phytopathogenic fungi is discussed.