Structural and functional insights into the role of Cysteine-Rich Receptor-Like Kinase 18 (CRK18) in Arabidopsis

Plants perceive and integrate diverse environmental signals through receptor kinase (RK) networks at the plasma membrane. Within this, Cysteine-Rich Receptor-Like Kinases (CRKs) constitute a large but not well-understood subfamily characterised by extracellular domains (ECDs) enriched in cysteine residues. CRKs have been implicated in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress, as well as in developmental processes. Additionally, several CRKs have been proposed to act as redox sensors. Here, we investigate the homodimerization mechanism of Arabidopsis CRK18 and its regulation by redox conditions. By modulating pH and redox state, we assessed the stability and binding dynamics of the CRK18 ECD and its cysteine mutants. We also tested the plasma membrane localisation of all the cysteine mutants involved in the predicted disulfide bonds, and only CRK18C227A, C228A-ECD resembled the plasma membrane localization of wild-type CRK18. We combine co-immunoprecipitation, Forster resonance energy transfer-fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and microscale thermophoresis to quantify CRK18 self-association in planta and in vitro. Furthermore, we place CRK18 dimerization in a broader signalling context by identifying CRK18 interaction partners and CRK18-dependent signalling outputs. Using Arabidopsis CRK18 overexpression lines, we perform (phospho)proteomic and immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry (IP-MS) analyses to map CRK18-centred signalling networks associated with stress-related responses. The constitutive activation of the CRK18 kinase domain and its interaction with many putative (cell wall) glycan-sensing RKs, including PERK15, suggest a regulatory role for CRK18. The absence of significant changes in the proteome and phosphoproteome of CRK18 overexpression lines in the absence of any trigger, and its restricted mobility after elicitation, suggest that CRK18 requires a stimulus for activation and possibly induces membrane microdomain reorganisation. This is in line with the infection assay with the nematode Heterodera schachtii, which causes modification and targeted damage to plant cell walls during infection, revealing that CRK18 acts as negative regulator of this process.