Tag: Biotic Interactions

Plants and pathogens are locked in a co-evolutionary arms race. Pathogens secrete effectors into plants, leading to effector-triggered susceptibility. Plants in turn respond through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of defence-related genes to defend themselves, which…

Pathogens have evolved diverse infection strategies governed by virulence factors, often targeting specific host organs or tissues. Genome fluidity plays a crucial role in enabling microbial pathogens to adapt to the dynamic selection pressures imposed by co-evolution with their hosts. In a recent study,…

Membrane-localized receptor-like kinases (RLKs) are essential for perceiving diverse signaling molecules, including proteins, polysaccharides, hormones, reactive oxygen species, ions, and damage-associated molecular patterns. Among the well-characterized RLKs, FLS2, EFR, and CERK1 are known to recognize…

Plants naturally interact with a diverse array of microorganisms, which influence their fitness in various ways. However, understanding these plant-microbe interactions and applying the knowledge in real-world agricultural systems has been challenging. Most experimental research focuses on bipartite…

Single cell mutiomics are radically changing our understanding of pretty much every cellular process. Here, Nobori et al. integrated single-cell transcriptomic, epigenomic and spatial transcriptomic data to investigate plant responses to pathogens. The authors used three different strains of Pseudomonas…

Special issue: Parasitic plants Runo, Wicke, and Thorogood have edited a special issue of Plants, People, Planet on the topic of parasitic plants. (Note - the Special Issue will be launched on February 19, but the articles are already online in Early View). It’s nice to see a collection…

Thanks to the continued shedding and renewal of root cap cells, plant roots are able to extend into further reaches within the soil column overcoming physical barriers and potential microbial attacks, or so we assumed. Charura et al. explored the latter hypothesis showing that timely programmed cell…

Strigolactones (SLs), a group of carotenoid-derived small signaling molecules and a class of phytohormones, play key roles in regulating various growth and developmental processes in plants. Additionally, they act as rhizosphere signaling molecules that promote symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)…