Reprogramming plant development: How Ustilago maydis hijacks auxin signaling to build galls
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlant pathogens often succeed not by brute force, but by subtly rewiring host developmental programs. Ustilago maydis, the basidiomycete fungus responsible for maize common smut, exemplifies this strategy by inducing tumor-like galls on aerial organs of its host. Although the U. maydis genome encodes…