The SCHENGEN pathway regulates lignin barrier formation via the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 in plant immunity

The SCHENGEN pathway regulates lignin barrier formation via the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 in plant immunity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The SCHENGEN pathway regulates lignin barrier formation via the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 in plant immunity Ohkmae Park, Eunjeong Jang, Hwi Seong Jeon, Minji Ahn, Hyewon Cho, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8962152/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lignin deposition is a hallmark of plant immunity, forming a physical barrier that restricts pathogen spread and confines hypersensitive cell death. However, how immune signaling triggers this barrier remains unclear. Here, we show that the Casparian strip surveillance pathway is repurposed during effector-triggered immunity to control lignin barrier formation. The peptide ligands CIF1 and CIF2 and their receptor SGN3 are transcriptionally induced upon avirulent bacterial infection and are required for pathogen-induced lignification and disease resistance. Mechanistically, SGN3 directly interacts with and phosphorylates BIK1, which acts as the primary downstream receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase in immune signaling. Genetic and molecular analyses further reveal that NLR-driven CIFs-SGN3-BIK1 signaling cooperates with pattern-recognition receptor pathways to promote ROS production and lignin polymerization during ETI. These findings uncover a previously unrecognized immune function of the SGN pathway and establish a signaling module linking pathogen recognition to lignin-based barrier formation. Biological sciences/Plant sciences/Plant immunity Biological sciences/Plant sciences/Plant signalling Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files NaturePlantsSupplTable1.xlsx Supplementary Table 1 NaturePlantsSupplFigures.pdf Supplementary Figures NaturePlantsReportingSummary.pdf Reporting Summary Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8962152","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":605678171,"identity":"e57380e8-937c-4ebf-a77e-5937880cf690","order_by":0,"name":"Ohkmae 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