Recent Posts

Bioengineered “pikobodies” confer plant disease resistance

The vertebrate adaptive immune system is truly an evolutionary marvel. With its ability to mix-and-match segments of immunoglobulin genes, a nearly unlimited diversity of antigens can be recognized. Plants lack this ability, greatly limiting the number of antigens (and pathogens) any individual can recognize.…

tter gourd protein for defense against plant viral diseases

Bitter gourds (or bitter melon) have been a childhood nightmare of mine. I remember that as a child, my grandparents used to force me to consume these really bitter gourds (Momordica charantia) telling me that they had ‘many benefits’. In addition to being a rich source of antioxidants, M. charantia…

Boosting plant disease resistance through epigenetics

Increasing 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…

Concerted expansion and contraction of immune receptor gene repertoires in plant genomes (Nature Plants)

Plant immunity is crucial for adaptation to pathogen attack and subsequent survival. Two systems support plant immunity. Cell-surface pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and prompt pattern-triggered immunity. Intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich…

Stemborer-induced rice plant volatiles boost direct and indirect resistance in neighboring plants (New Phytol)

Herbivore attack can trigger release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in numerous plant species. These airborne compounds from an infected plant act as messengers in plant-plant interactions causing adaptation to the stress in adjacent plants. Globally, rice is a staple food for millions of people,…

Plant immunity is wired differently in different plants (New Phytol)

In plants, microbial invasion is sensed by membrane-bound and cytoplasmic receptors. Our knowledge on the immune signaling that follows microbial recognition is mostly derived from studies on Arabidopsis thaliana. In this plant, receptor activation triggers immune responses that are distinct for each…

Identification of a cell signaling cascade that regulate s broad-spectrum resistance (Cell Reports)

Many different pathogens attack plants, and many genes have been identified that confer pathogen-specific resistance.  In a recent study, Hao et al. identified a signaling cascade that regulates broad-spectrum disease resistance. This pathway is composed of a rice ubiquitin ligase OsPUB73, a VQ motif-containing…

Chloroplast redox state changes mark cell-to-cell signalling in the hypersensitive response (New Phytol)

Programmed cell death (PCD) plays roles in both developmental and environmental responses across plant species. During pathogen attack, the hypersensitive response can limit spread of infection by orchestrating an organised death of cells around the infection area. A recent study by Lukan et al. demonstrated…

Ectopic expression of BOTRYTIS SUSCEPTIBLE1 reveals its function as a positive regulator of wound-induced cell death and plant susceptibility to Botrytis (Plant Cell)

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a ubiquitous eukaryotic process in which specific cells are eliminated during development or in response to stress. Here, Fuqiang Cui and colleagues confirm for the first time the exact role of the BOS1 gene in the regulation of PCD in Arabidopsis thaliana. Originally identified…