Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Plant pathogens pose a persistent threat to global food security, and crops defend themselves via two major immune strategies: pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) initiated by surface-localised pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) mediated by intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors [1].Among these, engineering NLRs offers a powerful route to durable resistance.Yet, two critical challenges remain-most NLRs have narrow effector recognition spectra and are functionally constrained to closely related species due to their reliance on taxonomically restricted helper NLRs.Recent advances have begun to address these bottlenecks.Wang et al. introduced a synthetic NLR strategy in which engineered immune receptors are activated by conserved pathogen-derived proteases, conferring broad-spectrum viral resistance [2].In parallel, Du et al. circumvented taxonomic barriers by coexpressing Solanaceae sensor NLRs with their cognate NRC helper NLRs in rice, soybean, and Arabidopsis, thereby overcoming restricted taxonomic functionality (RTF) and enabling functional immune transfer across distant lineages [3].
Source: Modern Agriculture
DOI: 10.1002/moda.70031
Authors: Jianjian Liu, Qian Gong
Institutions: Yangtze University, Peking University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Award: G2664119037
OpenAlex ID: W4414819060