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Bacterial genes required for plant colonization are highly host- and organ-specific. An efflux pump detoxifies specific Arabidopsis glucosinolates to protect commensal bacteria from plant chemical defenses during colonization.

N⁶-methyladenosine and ubiquitination modifications play crucial roles in plant-virus interaction. Here, E3 ligase TaHAKAI is found to target the WYMV P2 for degradation and inhibit viral infection in wheat while increasing yield through m⁶A.

This study identifies lineage-specific XEG1/XLP1 gene pair in the genus Phytophthora, revealing that selective pressure on these genes drives functional differentiation. This selection is closely linked to the host range and adaptability of Phytophthora species.

Plant roots are exposed to a diverse range of soil-dwelling microbial “friends” and “foes.” Here, via single-nucleus RNA-seq, the authors reveal cell type-specific responses to beneficial and pathogenic microbes in roots and identify regulators of root-microbiome interactions.

The authors show that immunosuppression is highly conserved in the bacterial order Xanthomonadales. This feature, which preceded their specialization as host-adapted pathogens, probably contributes to their prominence as core members of the plant microbiota.

Plants evolved NLR sensors to detect bacterial effectors or their activity. A genetic analysis in Arabidopsis expands the role of the ZAR1 NLR protein. ZAR1 recognizes effector HopF2a through its association with pseudokinase ZRK3, inducing resistance without hypersensitive response.

Plants recognize bacteria by perceiving a 22-residue epitope in flagellin. Plant-secreted SBT5.2 subtilases are found to inactivate this epitope, leading to elicitor removal and reducing costly immunity responses while bacteria avoid recognition.

Time-resolved drone imaging of potato crop development and seed tuber microbiome data can be used to predict potato vigour, or growth potential, in next-season crops in trial fields.

The plant general non-self response system is triggered by leaf microbiota members and, in turn, impacts their colonization.

3D in vivo pathogen dynamics in plants is visualized with label-free optical coherence tomography. Using image analysis, downy mildew infection is quantified in lettuce genotypes with different resistance levels and its growth followed over time.

The bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum secretes endonuclease RuvC, which degrades mature biofilm by targeting the lattice formed by cruciform extracellular DNA. This helps bacterial dispersal, pathogen spread in plant xylem and virulence.

Secreted plant subtilase SBT5.2 inactivates immunogenic csp22 epitopes in cold-shock proteins of Pseudomonas syringae, suggesting that pathogens exploit plant proteases to evade detection.

Amid virus inoculation by hemipteran insects, vector infestation induces salicylic acid (SA)-mediated plant antiviral defense. Here it is found that the vector-borne plant virus circumvents this antiviral defense via disrupting the SA signaling pathway.

Assessment of the evolution of plant-virus interactions suggests rapid reshaping of plant viromes after land colonization, along with rerouting of general defense responses to newly acquired vascular tissues that became focal for viral infections.

In this study Unger et al. show how the structure of aliphatic glucosinolates, defense metabolites in Brassicaceae plants, controls recruitment of specific metabolic networks of leaf bacteria, shedding light on broader ecological roles of defenses.

Tomato production is threatened by pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae. Here the authors screen a library of P. syringae effectors against a diverse collection of tomato accessions and identify six effector families that can potently induce effector triggered immunity.

RBSDV infection increases ZmGA2ox7.3 expression and oligomerization in ZmGDIα-containing maize, leading to reduced bioactive gibberellins and MRDD syndrome. In resistant maize, ZmGDIα-hel attenuates these effects, thereby reducing MRDD severity.

Plant pathogenic bacteria use host metabolites as virulence cues and nutrients. Here, Rogan et al. show that proline is depleted from the extracellular spaces of immune-elicited Arabidopsis leaves and that this depletion limits the growth of Pseudomonas syringae.

Woo et al. report new autophagy inhibitors identified through a high-throughput chemical screening using a BRET-based assay and an ATG8 synthetic sensor, that function as safe and effective fungicides against broad fungal pathogens.

Upon pathogen attack, plants can trigger the “cry for help” response and assemble beneficial rhizobacteria. Here, the authors use nonpathogenic Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 derivatives to elicit a similar “cry for help” response as the wild-type pathogenic DC3000 in Arabidopsis.

This study demonstrated how the oomycete effector RxLR23^KM can trigger plant defense responses by interacting with NbERD15La, a regulator of abscisic acid and salicylic acid pathways in tobacco, which in turn regulates the downstream immune activator NbNAC68.

Soil organisms are affected by the presence of predatory protists. Here, the authors predatory protists are negatively associated with bacteria wilt disease incidence in tomato plants and that fertilisation enhances the abundance of predatory protists

Magnaporthe oryzae effector MoSPAB1 enters rice nuclei to bind to the promoter of the immunity-brake gene Bsr-d1 and activates its expression by competing with rice MYBS1, which constitute a conserved module that facilitates fungal pathogenesis.

The plant immune output reactive oxygen species tames a detrimental bacterial commensal from native microbiota by suppressing a bacterial secretion system, allowing the co-existence and turning it into a beneficial bacterium to the host.

Ferroptosis is of great importance in plant immunity including microbe-plant interactions. Here, the authors unveil that a regulated ferroptosis process is involved in the mutualistic symbiosis and disease resistance of endophyte OsiSh-2 and host rice.

The paralogous NLR proteins, Pit1 and Pit2, exhibit distinct functions in rice immunity, where Pit1 induces cell death on the plasma membrane and Pit2 inhibits this function by sequestering Pit1 to the cytosol.

The phytotoxin fusaric acid produced by the phytopathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici results in a differential assembly of the rhizosphere microbiota of resistant and susceptible genotypes with implication for disease suppression.

Rps genes are used to manage the major soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae, which causes Phytophthora stem and root rot (PRR). Here, the authors show that widely used Rps genes are no longer effective for managing PRR in the United States, Canada and Argentina.

On-site crop disease diagnostics is critical for precise application of pesticides. Here, the authors report an in-field molecular diagnostic tool for wheat pathogens using a nucleic acid amplification-free, gene mutation-resolved and smartphone-integrated genetic assay.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important in plant-microbe interactions. Here we show that the divergent sequences within tetraspanins localized at EV membranes enable plant innate immune system to distinguish between self and non-self EVs.

Symptom recovery is induced by a balanced “arms race” between viruses and plants. Here, the authors show that a small peptide mediates autophagic degradation of viral silencing suppressors to reach the balance of virus pathogenicity and plant immunity.

Salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathway restricts the compatible infection of potyviruses. Here, Liu et al. show that potyviral NIb interacts with NPR1, the SA receptor in plants, preventing its sumoylation by SUMO3 and subsequent phosphorylation at Ser11/Ser15. This way, NPR1-mediated immunity is suppressed to promote virus infection.

This study provides evidence that microbiota has a fundamental role in immune maturation and age-dependent disease resistance in plants. Results also implicate a negative impact of high nitrogen on microbiota colonization and function.

Opportunistic plant pathogen Xanthomonas secretes leaf-degrading enzymes through the type-2 secretion systems that cause disease and thereby trigger changes in leaf microbiome composition.

Activating the expression of host susceptibility (S) genes is one of the strategies plant pathogens employed to promote infection of their host. Here, the authors show that targeted methylation at the TAL20 effector binding element of the cassava SWEET10a gene lead to resistance to Xanthomonas phaseoli.

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.

Near-identical downy-mildew-associated microbiomes are recruited by infected Arabidopsis plants in different laboratories and reduce the impact of subsequent infection.

Interactions among plant hosts, bacteria and fungi are measured at high spatial resolution.

Geminiviruses hijack the host DNA repairing proteins for their amplification. The authors report that Arabidopsis loses H3.1K27me1, a protector of genome stability, but gains resistance to geminivirus infection via retaining key factors like RAD51.

To avoid autoimmunity against the microbiome, plants use PHYTOSULFOKINE RECEPTOR 1-mediated regulation of salicylic acid signalling to tune the plant growth–defence balance in response to microbiota.

Pattern-triggered immunity is activated by recognition of microbe-derived structures by host pattern recognition receptors. Here the authors use a genotype-by sequencing approach to show that bacterial translation initiation factor 1 triggers PTI in Arabidopsis thaliana after recognition by the RLP32 receptor.

Fungal cell walls release β-1,3-glucan fragments that trigger plant immunity. Here, the authors show that a glucanase (Ebg1) of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae suppresses plant immunity by hydrolyzing β-1,3-glucan. At the same time, Ebg1 induces plant immune responses that are dampened by a fungal protein that interacts with Ebg1.

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.

The Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein RLP42 perceives a 9-amino-acid peptide contained in a fungal endopolygalacturonase. Other Brassica species perceive different epitopes, highlighting rapid and convergent evolution to ensure immunity against pathogenic microbes.

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.

A genetic screen identifies the versatile membrane receptor protein FERONIA as a key modulator of rhizosphere Pseudomonas and microbiome composition in Arabidopsis, through the control of basal levels of reactive oxygen species production.

Ustilaginoidea virens is a fungal pathogen that infects rice via the panicles. Here, the authors show that U. virens SGP1, a conserved Ser-Thr-rich glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol-anchored protein, elicits immune responses in rice leaves while contributing to virulence in panicles.

A secreted protein effector from the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae has bactericidal properties. It allows the pathogen to modify the root microbiome in tomato and cotton, specifically eliminating plant-protective bacteria, to increase its own virulence.

Movement of glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) promotes systemic resistance following local pathogen infections. Here the authors show that rootward movement of shoot-synthesized G3P occurs in response to root-recognition of incompatible rhizobia and promotes exclusion of non-desirable bacteria in roots.