Large-scale pairing identifies a soybean phytocytokine-receptor module conferring disease resistance.

Plant peptide hormones play essential roles in various physiological processes, including activating defence responses to biotic stress. Membrane-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) typically detect peptide hormones to initiate signalling pathways. Through comprehensive peptide-receptor matching, we identified 63 peptide-receptor pairs in soybeans. Among these, the immunomodulatory phytocytokines GmPEP914 and GmPEP890 trigger robust immune responses that suppress a broad spectrum of pathogen infections, mediated by their identified receptors GmPEP914 and GmPEP890 RECEPTOR1 (GmP98R1) and GmP98R2. Biochemical assays combined with AI-based structural modelling demonstrated that both peptides directly bind GmP98Rs with nanomolar affinity, driven primarily by interactions between the receptors and the C-terminal residue of the peptides. The PEP914-P98R module is conserved across Fabales and Cucurbitales, underscoring its evolutionary importance. Collectively, our study establishes a scalable pipeline for systematic peptide-receptor discovery and elucidates the pivotal role of the PEP914-P98R module in soybean disease resistance.