TAL effector driven induction of a SWEET gene confers susceptibility to bacterial blight of cotton

Plants undergo photosynthesis in leaves to produce carbohydrates sucrose and starch. The sucrose is transported to other parts of the plants via sugar transporters called SWEET proteins. In addition, certain plant pathogens activate SWEET genes to invade their host. As shown in this paper, during bacterial blight of cotton (BBC) disease, in cotton GhSWEET10 is induced by Transcription activator-like (TAL) Avrb6 from Xanthomonas citri subsp. malvacearum (Xcm). Understanding this mechanism of infection during BBC would help us develop pathogen resistant varieties of cotton. (Summary by Nidhi Sharma) Nature Comms. 10.1038/ncomms15588