Boosting plant disease resistance through epigenetics
Plant Science Research WeeklyIncreasing plant resistance to specific pathogens through genome editing is a very active branch of crop engineering. In a recent paper, Veley et al. propose to edit the epigenome to boost resistance to cassava bacterial blight by increasing the levels of DNA methylation at specific sites, while leaving…
Staying connected helps plant population fitness
Plant Science Research WeeklyMany animals, including humans, tangibly benefit from living socially. Does this benefit extend to plants? A recent study by Höckerstedt et al. says it does. The authors studied a wild host-pathogen population, Plantago lanceolata, and its obligate powdery mildew pathogen Podosphaera plantaginis in…
VDAL transgenic cotton exhibits tolerance to Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMa et al. investigate a VDAL protein from Verticillium dahliae that can enhance plant disease. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab221
By Aifang Ma, Zhizhong Gong and Junsheng Qi
Background: Verticillium wilt, also called a plant cancer disease, causes massive losses in multiple crops…