Work

Harnessing Natural Diversity and Rational Design for Enhanced Plant Immunity

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Plant pathogens cause crop loss. Genetic resistance, through natural genetic diversity or engineered resistance, can be highly effective in protecting plants from infection. Genetic resistance from wild relatives of crops has been successfully introduced into crops to control pathogen infection. Natural genetic diversity has also been used to dissect the molecular mechanisms of immunity. Pathogen recognition can be engineered due to advances in structural and computational biology, which have accelerated rational design approaches. We specifically focus on natural and engineered diversity in indirect recognition of pathogens, where the pathogen modifies a host protein and the modification is detected by a plant immune receptor, as these recognition systems are particularly common in bacterial pathogen resistance. We explore natural genetic diversity for indirect recognition at three scales (1) across species (2) within species and (3) within individuals. Finally, we extend these insights to approaches for rational engineering of plant-pathogen recognition.

Source: Plant Cell & Environment

DOI: 10.1111/pce.70758

Authors: Nathan Diplock, Jennifer D. Lewis

Institutions: University of California, Berkeley, United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Gene Expression Center

Language: English

Topic: Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,440