Plant roots encounter numerous pathogenic microbes that often cause devastating diseases. One such pathogen, Plasmodiophora brassicae (Pb), causes clubroot disease and severe yield losses on cruciferous crops worldwide. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of WeiTsing (WTS), a broad-spectrum clubroot resistance gene from Arabidopsis. WTS is transcriptionally activated in the pericycle upon Pb infection to prevent pathogen colonization in the stele. Brassica napus carrying the WTS transgene displayed strong resistance to Pb. WTS encodes a small protein localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and its expression in plants induces immune responses. The cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of WTS revealed a previously unknown pentameric architecture with a central pore. Electrophysiology analyses demonstrated that WTS is a calcium-permeable cation-selective channel. Structure-guided mutagenesis indicated that channel activity is strictly required for triggering defenses. The findings uncover an ion channel analogous to resistosomes that triggers immune signaling in the pericycle.

植物根部会遇到许多病原微生物，这些微生物通常会导致毁灭性的疾病。其中一种病原体，芸苔根肿菌( Pb )，会导致全世界十字花科作物的根肿病和严重的产量损失。在这里，我们报告了来自拟南芥的广谱根肿病抗性基因WeiTsing ( WTS )的分离和表征。 Pb感染后， WTS在中柱鞘中转录激活，以防止病原体在中柱中定植。携带WTS转基因的甘蓝型油菜表现出很强的Pb抗性。 WTS编码一种位于内质网 (ER) 中的小蛋白，其在植物中的表达会诱导免疫反应。 WTS 的冷冻电子显微镜 (cryo-EM) 结构揭示了一种以前未知的带有中心孔的五聚体结构。电生理学分析表明，WTS 是一种钙渗透性阳离子选择性通道。结构引导诱变表明通道活性是触发防御所必需的。这些发现揭示了类似于抵抗体的离子通道，可触发中柱鞘中的免疫信号传导。