Researchers Discover a Protein that Regulates Plant Disease Response

Scientists from University of California, Davis have pinpointed a protein in rice that plays a major role in moderating plant resistance to infectious diseases. UC Davis rice geneticist Pamela Ronald and colleagues have been working to understand how rice plants respond to the environment for decades. They discovered a pathogen recognition receptor (XA21) that controls plants’ innate immune response. In a paper published by PLoS Biology, the researchers identified a negative regulator for the XA21 pathogen recognition receptor, a protein they named XB15. Negative regulators keep the plant’s immune response from overreacting and make sure that a defense against a perceived pathogen is only mounted when truly needed.

Rice plants carrying an altered XB15 protein were shown to have enhanced resistance to bacterial leaf blight. The scientists also discovered that if this protein is excessively produced in rice plants carrying the XA21 resistance gene, it could compromise the plant’s ability to defend against the disease.

The discovery may pave the way for the development of hardier, more productive rice plants that can better meet the worldwide demand for rice.

Read the complete article at http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8778 Downloaded the paper at http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060231