In the war between plants and pathogens, it's every plant for itself.  

For several years now, researchers working out of the Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and the Department of Plant Pathology at NAU have positioned themselves on the front lines of understanding how the battles between plants and pathogens are fought.  

Reporting in the February 2018 issue of Nature Communications, a NAU research team used the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana to identify and describe RXEG1, a membrane-localized receptor that signals a conserved pathogen-associated protein to trigger plant immune responses against invading pathogens.  It's the latest findings from a series of projects in the Department of Plant Pathology to understand the weapons and strategies employed in plant-pathogen warfare.  Previous studies published in the journals Plant Cell and Science have identified a novel protein in Phytophthora, a potent weapon, and how pathogens use this weapon to attack plants.  Now that RXEG1 acting as a plant's front-line defenses has been identified, future work will focus on the warning system plants use to prepare for a microbial attack.

Wang Yan, the first author of the study says the team has also developed a high throughput genome-wide silencing assay, making it easier to disrupt gene function and identify immune receptors in plants. According to Wang Yan, considerable interest from around the world is being generated by their continuing work.  Researchers are especially excited by the potential application to increase disease resistance in crops.  This "efficient toolkit" would contribute to developing durable disease resistance and reducing the use of pesticides.