The genetic arms race between plant andXanthomonas: lessons learned from TALE biology

The pathogenic bacterial genusXanthomonasinfects a wide variety of host plants and causes devastating diseases in many crops. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are important virulence factors secreted byXanthomonaswith the ability to directly bind to the promoters of target genes in plant hosts and activate their expression, which often facilitates the proliferation of pathogens. Understanding how plants cope with TALEs will provide mechanistic insights into crop breeding forXanthomonasdefense. Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have revealed the modes of action of TALEs in plant cells and plant defense strategies to overcome TALE attack. Based on these findings, new technologies were adopted for disease management to optimize crop production. In this article, we will review the most recent advances in the evolutionary arms race between plant resistance and TALEs fromXanthomonas, with a specific focus on TALE applications in the development of novel breeding strategies for durable and broad-spectrum resistance.

Automated summary

TALEs secreted by Xanthomonas are important virulence factors that bind to target genes in plant hosts, facilitating pathogen proliferation. Studying plant response to TALEs is crucial for crop breeding and enhancing defense mechanisms to combat TALE attacks.