Engineering the barley NLR RGH2 enhances recognition of blast pathogen effectors from rice and wheat, leading to improved disease resistance.

The type II secretion (T2S) system is conserved across the Xanthomonas lineage, yet its contributions to pathogenicity and secreted protein repertoires are poorly defined. We demonstrate that T2S syst...

The updated OrthoFinder v3 software boosts accuracy and scalability in phylogenetic orthology inference with massive and diverse datasets.

Non-host resistance refers to the immunity of plant species to virtually all isolates of a potential pathogen and represents an underexplored avenue for breeding and engineering disease resistance. In domesticated and wild barley, cell surface-localized lectin receptor kinases (LecRKs) contribute to determining the host status to leaf rust fungi, which pose a major threat to global cereal production. Here, we identify a conserved family of leaf rust glycoside hydrolases as ligands for these barley LecRKs and show that direct ligand-receptor binding triggers immune responses. This mechanism of pathogen perception is conserved across multiple cereal species and can be functionally transferred between them. We also uncover previously uncharacterized recognition specificities among distinct LecRK variants, expanding the repertoire of LecRK-mediated rust pathogen detection. Our findings define a molecular mechanism underlying non-host resistance in cereals and provide a basis for harnessing non-host rust resistance across diverse crop-pathogen systems.

The wheat NLR Pm3e provides broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew. Here, the authors show that Pm3e recognizes two structurally unrelated effector proteins and that its range can be further...

Genome annotation is a multi-level process that includes prediction of protein-coding genes, as well as other functional genome units such as structural RNAs, tRNAs, small RNAs, pseudogenes, control…

Pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote virulence. Despite their recognition by barley Mla resistance genes, the structurally-related Blumeria hordei ( Bh ) AVRA effectors are maintained in the...

Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous components of the genome whose mobility can be triggered by environmental stress and influenced by genotype…

We analyzed transcriptional networks in barley under single and combined Fusarium head blight (FHB) and drought stress. We applied complementary Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify stress-associated gene co-expression modules and GENIE3 to infer gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Integration of these frameworks revealed strong overlaps between co-expression modules and GRN clusters, highlighting robust regulatory patterns. Key transcription factors (TFs) were identified based on their weighted node degrees, reflecting their connectivity within the network. Independent analysis of paired transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions further supported predicted regulatory interactions. Notably, WRKY TFs emerged as central regulators of FHB response, consistent with their known roles in defense and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, but did not appear in drought-associated contexts. For bHLH or NAC TFs, individual family members steered FHB or drought responses but not both. Our findings demonstrate the power of combining network inference and motif enrichment to identify candidate TFs controlling stress responses, providing a solid foundation for targeted functional validation. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Quantitative disease resistance in a wild tomato genotype evolved through species-specific regulatory network rewiring, with an ancient transcription facto

Broad-spectrum resistance genes are highly valuable for sustainable crop protection, yet the molecular basis of their activity is often unknown. The Pm3 allelic series in wheat encodes NLR receptors t...

Rapid alkalinization factor (RALF) peptides are important signaling molecules binding to Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase 1-like (CrRLK1L)—LORELEI/LORELEI-like GPI-anchored protein complexes t...

Nature Plants - Rapid discovery of functional resistance genes is enabled by a high-expression signature and high-throughput transformation. This approach identified 31 new resistance genes for...

Intrinsically disordered regions in SCAR/WAVE proteins drive diverse functions in root hair and leaf trichome development.

Abstract. Purifying selection is expected to prevent the accumulation of transposable elements (TEs) within their host, especially when located in and arou

INOSITOL PHOSPHORYLCERAMIDE SYNTHASE 2 (IPCS2) is involved in the biosynthesis of complex sphingolipids at the trans-Golgi network (TGN). Here, we demonstrate a role of IPCS2 in penetration resistance...