Rice OsML1, a distant plant homologue of animal MD-2 protein, can also bind to and recognize bacterial LPS and co-triggers innate immunity

Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria recognized by plants, triggering typical pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) responses. However, a LPS sensing receptor for the recognition of plants remains largely undefined. A plant receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has not yet been identified. Here, we identify a plant protein, OsML1, with homologies to animal MD-2, which is capable of binding LPS. Furthermore, it may act as a molecular chaperone to assist CK1 in perceiving LPS signals. Our results show that OsML1 functions as an LPS-binding protein recognizing LPS and participates in downstream rice immune response activation. Structural modeling and sequence analysis revealed that OsML1 contains both a typical ML domain and a conserved three-dimensional β-barrel structure as mammalian MD-2 proteins. Microscale thermophoresis assays confirmed that OsML1 binds LPS with high affinity. Functional analyses further demonstrated that OsML1 knockout plants show reduced resistance to the rice bacterial blight pathogen, as well as attenuated ROS bursts upon LPS treatments, whereas overexpression plants show enhanced immune responses. Metabolomic profiling indicated significant metabolic changes in OsML1 knockout plants, particularly in immune-related pathways involving lipids, amino acids, and antimicrobial compounds. OsML1 is consequently a structurally conserved and functional LPS-binding protein linking lipid metabolism, LPS perception, immune activation, and metabolic regulation. Phylogenetic and structural analyses revealed that OsML1 likely arose from a duplication of OsML2, forming an independently functional subgroup within the PITP family. Our study identifies OsML1 as a LPS recognition factor involved in LPS sensing and downstream ROS bursts activation, callose deposition, and broad-spectrum gene expression of resistance. These findings expand our knowledge of bacterial LPS perception and immune regulation in plants, offering novel targets and strategies for disease-resistant breeding.