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Abstract
<p class="first" id="d4147534e109">Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades
are key signaling modules downstream
of receptors/sensors that perceive endogenous and exogenous stimuli such as hormones,
peptide ligands, and pathogen-derived patterns/effectors. In this review, we summarize
recent advances in the establishment of MAPK cascades as unified signaling modules
downstream of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and receptor-like proteins (RLPs) in plant
growth and defense, the identification of components connecting the RLK/RLP receptor
complexes to the MAPK cascades, and the interactions between MAPK and hormone signaling
pathways. We also propose a set of criteria for defining the physiological substrates
of plant MAPKs. With only a limited number of MAPK components, multiple functional
pathways often share the same MAPK cascade. As a result, understanding the signaling
specificity, which requires detailed information about the spatiotemporal expression
of the components involved, their complex formation, and the consequence of substrate
phosphorylation, is central to our study of MAPK functions.
</p>