Wheat is grown over more land area than any other food crop. Among pathogen-driven threats to wheat, fungi top the list, causing billions of dollars of losses each year and posing a serious challenge ...

Phytopathogens deploy secreted effector proteins that interfere with different host cellular pathways to suppress plant immunity and redirect nutrient flow. Conventional effectors are small ...

A historic potato plant specimen collected by David Moore from the National Botanic Garden in Glasnevin, Ireland showing late-blight disease. In an examination of the genetic material found in ...

Machine learning (ML) encompasses statistical methods that learn to identify patterns in complex datasets. Here, I review application areas in plant–pathogen interactions that have recently benefited ...

A team of researchers at the University of Toronto has successfully tested a new strategy for identifying genetic resources critical for the ongoing battle against plant pathogens such as bacteria, ...

During infection, reversible switch permits flexible formation of memory T cells, long-lived blood cells that can remember pathogen encounters and respond upon reinfection. Unexpected findings have ...

Cereals are among the most important staple foods. Wheat alone provides around 20 percent of the global supply of protein and calories. However, its ...

Cereals have natural resistance to pathogenic fungi, but powdery mildew, for example, can overcome this resistance. A team at ...

In a surprising twist, gut pathogens like Salmonella are not repelled by fecal indole; instead, they exploit it to locate nutrient-rich environments, turning a microbial defense into a colonization ...

When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a ...