Receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) represent a large family of proteins in plants. In Arabidopsis and rice, several RLCKs in subfamily VII (RLCKs-VII) have been implicated in pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity and basal resistance against bacterial and fungal pathogens. However, little is known about roles of RLCKs-VII of the important crop common wheat (Triticum aestivum) in immune responses. Here, we isolated a RLCK-VII-encoding gene from wheat, designated as TaRLCK1B, and investigated its role in host immune response to infection of a necrotrophic fungus Rhizoctonia cerealis that is a major pathogen of sharp eyespot, a destructive disease of wheat. RNA-sequencing and RT-qPCR analyses showed that transcriptional level of TaRLCK1B was significantly higher in sharp eyespot-resistant wheat cultivars than in susceptible wheat cultivars. The gene transcription was rapidly and markedly elevated in the resistant wheat cultivars by R. cerealis infection. The TaRLCK1B protein was closely related to OsRLCK176, a rice resistance-related RLCKs-VII, with 84.03% identity. Virus-induced gene silencing plus wheat response to R. cerealis assay results indicated that silencing of TaRLCK1 impaired resistance to R. cerealis. Meantime, silencing of TaRLCK1 significantly elevated both the content of H2O2 (a major kind of reactive oxygen species, ROS) and the transcriptional level of the ROS-generating enzyme-encoding gene RBOH, but repressed the expression of the ROS-scavenging enzyme-encoding gene CAT1 at 18 hours after inoculation (hai) with R. cerealis. Taken together, these data suggested that TaRLCK1B was required for the early immune response of wheat to R. cerealis through modulating ROS signaling in wheat.
