Review. The coming of age of EvoMPMI: evolutionary molecular plant-microbe interactions across multiple timescales

Often, a wide gap exists between evolutionary research, that is focused on theoretical approaches and organism evolution across multiple timescales, and molecular research aspiring to solve mechanistic puzzles of how particular systems work. Plant Biology is no exception to this, and much can be learnt of plant-microbe interactions by combining mechanistic research with evolutionary approaches which is emerging in recent years. A recent review by Upson et al. summarises the most recent advances made in plant-microbe interactions from studies focusing on how ancient plants evolved through interactions with microorganisms, and the continuous arms race between the plant immune system and successful infection by pathogens.The authors highlight the concept of convergent evolution of unrelated plant pathogens due to similar selective pressures by the plant immune response to infection, and comparably, how pathogens have left footprints on evolving plant genomes. Studying both the evolutionary and molecular aspects of plant-microbe interactions will greatly advance our understanding  and help to understand new perspectives of this interesting field of plant science. (Summary by Danielle Roodt Prinsloo) BioRxiv. 10.1101/254755