Wheat microbiome bacteria reduce virulence of pathogenic fungus by altering fungal histone acetylation (Nature Comms)
Plant Science Research WeeklySometimes the plant is a relatively passive host upon which other organisms engage in dynamic interactions. Chen et al. showed that a wheat head-associated bacterium, Pseudomonas piscium, produces antifungal compounds that inhibit the growth of a plant pathogenic fungus, Fusarium graminearum. The authors…
Arabidopsis seeds delay germination in the presence of pathogens (eLIFE)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe rhizosphere represents a complex and dynamic environment that poses many challenges for seed germination and seedling establishment. While a number of well-characterized abiotic factors and hormone signaling pathways are known to contribute to the initiation of seed germination, our current understanding…
Plant Systemic Immunity Comes Full Circle: A Positive Regulatory Loop for Defense Amplification
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefThe plant immune system is effective in conferring resistance to various invading pathogens and pests. Membrane-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and intracellular nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat proteins (NLRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns and pathogen…
Review. Xylella fastidiosa: Insights into an emerging plant pathogen ($) (Annu. Rev. Plant Phytopathol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa occurs widely and often asymptomatically, yet it is associated with a few seriously bad disease outbreaks, the most recent affecting olive trees in southern Italy and adjoining regions. It also is the causal agent of Pierce’s Disease of grapevine, citrus…
A single transcription factor promotes both yield and immunity in rice ($) (Science)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants regularly prioritize either growth or defense, leading to reduced growth rate when the plant is under attack. Wang et al. have identified a simple switch in rice that demonstrates this principle beautifully. The Ideal Plant Architecture 1 (IPA1) transcription factor is involved in controlling…
Agrobacterium tumefaciens enhances biosynthesis of two distinct auxins in crown galls ($) (Plant Cell Physiol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyKiyoshi et al. investigated auxin biosynthesis during the formation of crown galls by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Agrobacterium introduces into the plant T-DNA containing two auxin biosynthesis genes iaaM (TRYPTOPHAN-2-MONOOXYGENASE) and iaaH (INDOLE-3-ACETAMIDE HYDROLASE). The authors used LC-MS/MS to…
The Healing Power of Light
Blog, Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: News and ViewsLight is life, especially for plants. It fuels photosynthesis and, when perceived by photoreceptors, directs important developmental programs, including photomorphogenesis and shade avoidance. Red and blue light wavelengths activate phytochrome (phy) and cryptochrome (cry) photoreceptors, respectively,…
SNARE proteins in replication vesicle trafficking of turnip mosaic virus ($) (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyWhen plant cells are infected by RNA viruses, viral replication complexes are generated in organelle-like structures. These vesicles are important for the replication of viral RNA (vRNA) as well as moving vRNA-protein complexes through plasmodesmata to infect other plant cells. When turnip mosaic virus…
LTPs participate in preinvasive defense against powdery mildew pathogens (Mol. Plant Pathol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) display a strikingly clear capacity to bind lipidic molecules yet their mechanistic role in plant developmental or stress physiology is not yet clear. In a recent study published in Molecular Plant Pathology, Fahlberg et al. (2018) investigated the role of glycophosphatidylinositiol-(GPI)-anchored…