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Release of a ubiquitin brake activates OsCERK1-triggered immunity in rice
The ubiquitin E3 ligase OsCIE1 acts as a brake to inhibit OsCERK1 during homeostasis; this brake is released after chitin stimulation.
- Gang Wang
- , Xi Chen
- & Ertao Wang
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Article
| Open AccessSubstrate-induced condensation activates plant TIR domain proteins
Binding of the substrates NAD+ and ATP to the plant Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain proteins induces phase separation and, thereby, activation of TIR enzymatic and immune signalling activity.
- Wen Song
- , Li Liu
- & Jijie Chai
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Article |
Spatial IMA1 regulation restricts root iron acquisition on MAMP perception
Microorganism-associated molecular patterns such as flagellin lead to suppression of root iron acquisition through localized degradation of the systemic iron-deficiency signalling peptide Iron Man 1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Min Cao
- , Matthieu Pierre Platre
- & Wolfgang Busch
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Article
| Open AccessBacterial pathogens deliver water- and solute-permeable channels to plant cells
The bacterial effector proteins of the AvrE family function as membrane channels in plant cells, enabling the passage of water and solutes from host cells to support pathogen growth, and disrupting the viability of the host cell.
- Kinya Nomura
- , Felipe Andreazza
- & Sheng Yang He
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Article |
Molecular basis of methyl-salicylate-mediated plant airborne defence
Aphid-transmitted viruses encode proteins that suppress the plant airborne defence response—which is triggered by volatile chemicals released by neighbouring plants after aphid attack—and the plants consequently become less repellent to aphids and more suitable for aphid survival, infestation and viral transmission.
- Qian Gong
- , Yunjing Wang
- & Yule Liu
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Article |
Genome editing of a rice CDP-DAG synthase confers multipathogen resistance
Editing of a rice gene that has a role in phospholipid synthesis has endowed rice plants with broad-spectrum resistance to disease, including protection from common bacterial and fungal pathogens, without decreasing the yield.
- Gan Sha
- , Peng Sun
- & Guotian Li
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Article |
Export of defensive glucosinolates is key for their accumulation in seeds
Arabidopsis thaliana UMAMIT uniporters facilitate glucosinolate efflux from biosynthetic cells along the electrochemical gradient into the apoplast, in which the high-affinity H+-coupled glucosinolate importers GLUCOSINOLATE TRANSPORTERS (GTRs) load them into the phloem for translocation to the seeds.
- Deyang Xu
- , Niels Christian Holm Sanden
- & Barbara Ann Halkier
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Article |
NLR surveillance of pathogen interference with hormone receptors induces immunity
The tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus nonstructural protein NSs interferes with phytohormone signalling in plants to compromise plant defences by interacting with plant TCP21—this effect of the viral protein is counteracted by the plant NLR immune receptor protein Tsw.
- Jing Chen
- , Yanxiao Zhao
- & Xiaorong Tao
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Article
| Open AccessA wheat resistosome defines common principles of immune receptor channels
Evolutionary conservation of plant receptor structure allowed for generation of new variants of wheat and barley nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) that recognize AvrSr35 of the wheat stem rust pathogen, supporting proof of principle for structure-based engineering of NLRs for crop improvement.
- Alexander Förderer
- , Ertong Li
- & Jijie Chai
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Article |
Plant receptor-like protein activation by a microbial glycoside hydrolase
A structural analysis focusing on plant immunity reveals how LRR-containing receptor-like proteins recognize pathogenic ligands and consequently become activated, with the data suggesting that these proteins target pathogens through two different mechanisms.
- Yue Sun
- , Yan Wang
- & Jijie Chai
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Article
| Open AccessIncreasing the resilience of plant immunity to a warming climate
Suppression of salicylic acid production in Arabidopsis thaliana at high temperature is caused by decreased recruitment of GUANYLATE BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 3 defence-associated condensates on promoter sites of master immune regulatory genes.
- Jong Hum Kim
- , Christian Danve M. Castroverde
- & Sheng Yang He
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Article |
Structural basis of NPR1 in activating plant immunity
Cryo-electron microscopy and crystal structures of Arabidopsis NPR1—a bird-shaped homodimer—and its complex with the transcription factor TGA3 provide an explanation for a direct role of salicylic acid and enhanceosome assembly in regulating NPR1-dependent gene expression.
- Shivesh Kumar
- , Raul Zavaliev
- & Pei Zhou
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Article |
Phytocytokine signalling reopens stomata in plant immunity and water loss
A plant endogenous peptide-receptor signaling pathway termed SCREW–NUT is described; it counteracts microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)- and abscisic acid-induced stomatal closure to regulate the reopening of stomata after biotic and abiotic stresses.
- Zunyong Liu
- , Shuguo Hou
- & Libo Shan
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Article |
NLRs guard metabolism to coordinate pattern- and effector-triggered immunity
The deubiquitinase PICI1 is identified as part of an immunity hub that coordinates pattern- and effector-triggered immunity and is involved in conferring broad-spectrum resistance to blast across different subspecies of rice.
- Keran Zhai
- , Di Liang
- & Zuhua He
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Article |
Activation of TIR signalling boosts pattern-triggered immunity
A study reveals that activation of Toll/interleukin-1 receptor signalling is an important mechanism for boosting plant defence during pattern-triggered immunity.
- Hainan Tian
- , Zhongshou Wu
- & Yuelin Zhang
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Article |
The EDS1–PAD4–ADR1 node mediates Arabidopsis pattern-triggered immunity
The authors provide mechanistic insights into the crosstalk between signalling components of pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity and their molecular linkers.
- Rory N. Pruitt
- , Federica Locci
- & Thorsten Nürnberger
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Article |
A phase-separated nuclear GBPL circuit controls immunity in plants
A family of plant guanylate-binding protein-like GTPases controls phase separation and assembly of condensates, thereby forming a circuit that regulates transcriptional responses to biotic stress.
- Shuai Huang
- , Shiwei Zhu
- & John D. MacMicking
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Article |
Mutual potentiation of plant immunity by cell-surface and intracellular receptors
In Arabidopsis, two distinct types of immunity—that mediated by cell-surface receptors and that mediated by intracellular receptors—interact with and mutually enhance each other to provide effective defence against pathogens.
- Bruno Pok Man Ngou
- , Hee-Kyung Ahn
- & Jonathan D. G. Jones
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Article |
Pattern-recognition receptors are required for NLR-mediated plant immunity
Bacteria elicit two distinct immune responses in Arabidopsis thaliana, mediated by diverse signalling receptors but working in a synergistic manner.
- Minhang Yuan
- , Zeyu Jiang
- & Xiu-Fang Xin
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Article |
A single bacterial genus maintains root growth in a complex microbiome
Experiments using an ecologically realistic 185-member bacterial synthetic community in the root system of Arabidopsis reveal that Variovorax bacteria can influence plant hormone levels to reverse the inhibitory effect of the community on root growth.
- Omri M. Finkel
- , Isai Salas-González
- & Jeffery L. Dangl
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Article |
The calcium-permeable channel OSCA1.3 regulates plant stomatal immunity
A study in Arabidopsis thaliana shows that the immune receptor-associated cytosolic kinase BIK1 phosphorylates OSCA1.3 and identifies OSCA1.3 as the pathogen-responsive Ca2+-permeable channel that regulates stomatal closure.
- Kathrin Thor
- , Shushu Jiang
- & Cyril Zipfel
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Article |
Structural basis of salicylic acid perception by Arabidopsis NPR proteins
Structural determination of the salicylic-acid-binding core of Arabidopsis NPR4 sheds light on the mechanisms through which this plant hormone interacts with its receptors, providing insights that are of potential use in engineering enhanced immunity.
- Wei Wang
- , John Withers
- & Ning Zheng
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Article |
Ligand-induced monoubiquitination of BIK1 regulates plant immunity
The detection of microorganism-associated ligands by plant cells activates a signalling cascade in which the kinase BIK1 is monoubiquinated, released from the FLS2–BAK1 complex, and internalized by endocytosis.
- Xiyu Ma
- , Lucas A. N. Claus
- & Libo Shan
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Letter |
A calmodulin-gated calcium channel links pathogen patterns to plant immunity
The cyclic nucleotide-gated channel proteins CNGC2 and CNGC4 form a calcium channel in Arabidopsis; this channel is blocked by calmodulin in the resting state but is phosphorylated and activated upon pathogen attack, triggering an increase in cytosolic calcium levels.
- Wang Tian
- , Congcong Hou
- & Sheng Luan
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Letter |
Mechanisms of RALF peptide perception by a heterotypic receptor complex
Uncovering a mechanism of peptide perception by the receptor kinase FER and the LLG1 protein in Arabidopsis thaliana suggests a role for diverse RALF peptides in regulating multiple growth and reproductive processes in plants.
- Yu Xiao
- , Martin Stegmann
- & Jijie Chai
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Letter |
A kiwellin disarms the metabolic activity of a secreted fungal virulence factor
A kiwellin protein in maize is found to inhibit the activity of the secreted enzyme chorismate mutase from a maize-infecting pathogenic fungus, suggesting a role for kiwellins in plant immunity.
- Xiaowei Han
- , Florian Altegoer
- & Gert Bange
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Letter |
Phosphocode-dependent functional dichotomy of a common co-receptor in plant signalling
The plant receptor kinase co-receptor BAK1 contains phosphosites that are required for immune function but not for brassinosteroid-regulated growth in Arabidopsis thaliana; an additional tyrosine phosphosite may be required for the function of many Arabidopsis receptor kinases.
- Artemis Perraki
- , Thomas A. DeFalco
- & Cyril Zipfel
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Letter |
MicroRNAs from the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris target host messenger RNAs
A parasitic plant produces microRNAs that target host messenger RNAs, causing them to be processed into small interfering RNAs.
- Saima Shahid
- , Gunjune Kim
- & Michael J. Axtell
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Letter |
Global translational reprogramming is a fundamental layer of immune regulation in plants
Global translatome analysis shows that plants also modify their translational output—independently of the changes in transcriptional output—to establish pattern-triggered immunity.
- Guoyong Xu
- , George H. Greene
- & Xinnian Dong
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Letter |
uORF-mediated translation allows engineered plant disease resistance without fitness costs
WebIn both laboratory and field studies, engineering translational control of immune mediator production in Arabidopsis and rice confers disease resistance, without compromising plant fitness.
- Guoyong Xu
- , Meng Yuan
- & Xinnian Dong
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Article |
Root microbiota drive direct integration of phosphate stress and immunity
In Arabidopsis thaliana, a genetic network that controls the phosphate stress response also influences the structure of the root microbiome community, even under non-stress phosphate conditions.
- Gabriel Castrillo
- , Paulo José Pereira Lima Teixeira
- & Jeffery L. Dangl
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Article |
Bacteria establish an aqueous living space in plants crucial for virulence
A combination of high humidity and bacterial effectors, such as Pseudomonas syringae HopM1, creates an aqueous environment in the apoplast of immunodeficient Arabidopsis thaliana that allows non-pathogenic P. syringae strains to become virulent pathogens.
- Xiu-Fang Xin
- , Kinya Nomura
- & Sheng Yang He
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Letter |
A new cyanogenic metabolite in Arabidopsis required for inducible pathogen defence
Untargeted metabolomics and coexpression analysis uncovers the complete biosynthetic pathway of a previously unknown Arabidopsis metabolite, 4-hydroxyindole-3-carbonyl nitrile (4-OH-ICN), which harbours cyanogenic functionality.
- Jakub Rajniak
- , Brenden Barco
- & Elizabeth S. Sattely
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Letter |
Redox rhythm reinforces the circadian clock to gate immune response
The master immune regulator NPR1 of Arabidopsis is a sensor of the plant’s redox state and regulates transcription of core circadian clock genes even in the absence of pathogen challenge.
- Mian Zhou
- , Wei Wang
- & Xinnian Dong
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Letter |
Pathogen-secreted proteases activate a novel plant immune pathway
In Arabidopsis thaliana, pathogen-secreted proteases trigger a previously unknown defence response involving heterotrimeric G-protein complexes upstream of a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade.
- Zhenyu Cheng
- , Jian-Feng Li
- & Frederick M. Ausubel
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Letter |
NIK1-mediated translation suppression functions as a plant antiviral immunity mechanism
A new mechanism that plants use to combat begomoviruses—one of the most pathogenic groups of plant viruses, causing severe disease in major crops worldwide—is uncovered: plants inhibit the transcription of genes associated with the translational apparatus, thus causing a general reduction in protein synthesis.
- Cristiane Zorzatto
- , João Paulo B. Machado
- & Elizabeth P. B. Fontes
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Outlook |
Microbiome: Soil science comes to life
Plants may be getting a little help with their tolerance of drought and heat.
- Roger East
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Outlook |
Crop pests: Under attack
The threat of insects to agriculture is set to increase as the planet warms. What action can we take to safeguard our crops?
- Amy Maxmen
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Research Highlights |
Beware the parasite's parasite
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Letter |
A soybean cyst nematode resistance gene points to a new mechanism of plant resistance to pathogens
This study reports the identification of the first soybean gene that has a role in resistance to soybean cyst nematode; this finding should help to improve crop resistance to nematodes.
- Shiming Liu
- , Pramod K. Kandoth
- & Khalid Meksem
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Letter |
A Xanthomonas uridine 5′-monophosphate transferase inhibits plant immune kinases
The plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris effector, AvrAC, is shown to have uridine 5′-monophosphate transferase activity, enabling it to interfere with plant immune signalling by using this protein modification.
- Feng Feng
- , Fan Yang
- & Jian-Min Zhou
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Letter |
S-nitrosylation of NADPH oxidase regulates cell death in plant immunity
- Byung-Wook Yun
- , Angela Feechan
- & Gary J. Loake
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Letter |
Metabolic priming by a secreted fungal effector
- Armin Djamei
- , Kerstin Schipper
- & Regine Kahmann
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Letter |
Stem-cell-triggered immunity through CLV3p–FLS2 signalling
- Horim Lee
- , Ok-Kyong Chah
- & Jen Sheen
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News & Views |
Defence at dawn
A remarkable example has been discovered of a plant tuning its immune defence against a pathogen. The tuning consists of maximal expression of the relevant genes at the time of day when attack is most likely. See Letter p.110
- C. Robertson McClung
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Letter |
Timing of plant immune responses by a central circadian regulator
Circadian rhythms regulate a wide variety of developmental and metabolic processes resulting in enhanced fitness. In this study, a link is made between plant immune responses and the circadian clock. Plant defence against a fungal pathogen which causes downy mildew disease in Arabidopsis is studied, and it is shown that a novel set of defence genes are regulated by the circadian regulator CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1). The mechanism allows plants to 'anticipate' infection at dawn when the pathogen normally disperses its spores. Such a cross-talk mechanism reveals an important strategy for plants to time immune responses against pathogens.
- Wei Wang
- , Jinyoung Yang Barnaby
- & Xinnian Dong
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Article |
Sugar transporters for intercellular exchange and nutrition of pathogens
Sugar efflux transporters are essential for diverse processes such as nectar production and seed and pollen development, as well for the maintenance of blood glucose levels in animals. These authors identify and characterize a novel sugar transporter family, SWEET, and show that several Arabidopsis, rice and metazoan homologues mediate glucose transport. In addition, some of these transporters are exploited by plant pathogens for nutritional gain and virulence.
- Li-Qing Chen
- , Bi-Huei Hou
- & Wolf B. Frommer
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News Feature |
Food: An underground revolution
Plant breeders are turning their attention to roots to increase yields without causing environmental damage. Virginia Gewin unearths some promising subterranean strategies.
- Virginia Gewin
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News |
Virulent wheat fungus invades South Africa
Mutating and migrating stem rust pathogen could soon spread across the world.
- Natasha Gilbert