Recent Posts

Drastic genome reduction in an herbivore’s pectinolytic symbiont

Cell. In a very interesting report, Salem et al., showed evidence of an alternative mechanism supporting how the degradation of pectin, a very hard to metabolize component of the cell wall, has directed the evolution of herbivory in insects and arthropods. Recent reports have indicated that horizontally…

An extracellular network of Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases

Nature. Through the activity of hundreds of membrane receptors, plants can sense the extracellular environment and tune their growth and responses to abiotic and biotic stimuli in an elegant and complex way. Despite their pivotal role, only a dozen of receptors have been characterized in plants and very…

 A barley powdery mildew fungus non-autonomous retrotransposon encodes a peptide that supports penetration success on barley

BioRxiv. Barley powdery mildew is an important asmocycete disease caused by the fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei.  Previous literature in this field has investigated susceptibility genes as important targets to develop resistance. A well-known example of this, is the MLO gene, a negative regulator…

How to make a tumour: cell type specific dissection of Ustilago maydis-induced tumour development in maize leaves

New. Phytol. Ustilago maydis causes corn smut disease on maize which is characterized by plant cancerous symptoms forming tumours on all aerial parts of host. The fungus deploys organ-specific effector proteins to re-program organ primordia to enormous tumours, however the cellular dissection of these…

Extracellular ATP acts on jasmonate signaling to reinforce plant defense

Plant Physiol. Extracellular ATP induces plant defense responses but the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. The paper by Tripathi et al. shows how extracellular ATP serves as a danger signal in plant defense and its interaction with the signalling pathways of other stress hormones, e.g. jasmonate…

MicroRNAs from the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris target host messenger RNAs

Nature. Cuscuta sp. commonly known as dodder, is an obligate parasitic plant that colonizes a broad range of host plants and obtain water and nutrients by specialized feeding structure called haustorium.  Literature suggests that this specialized structure is involved in bidirectional movement of viruses,…

Laccase Confers Biotic Stress Tolerance
in Cotton

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is a globally cultivated globally crop of vast economic importance. Pathogens and pests are major limitations to cotton yield and quality. Verticillium wilt, caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae, is the disease most detrimental to cotton production. Cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa…

Out of Uganda: An Aggressive Crop Killer That Threatens Global Food

Fungal disease in wheat crops has been a serious but controllable problem, but a newer strain of what’s called “stem rust” has scientists worried. January 8, 2018 by Kerstin Hoppenhaus & Sibylle Grunze The video below is the first part in a six-part series examining the scourge of Ug99,…

Ash leaf metabolomes reveal differences between trees tolerant and susceptible to ash dieback disease

Over the last two decades, Ash dieback (ADB) has been sweeping through Europe killing or damaging a large proportion of European common ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior).  ADB results from infection by wind borne spores of the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.  As ADB spread and the scientific research…