Jiao Xue, Zhanhua Lu, Wei Liu, Shiguang Wang, Dongbai Lu, Xiaofei Wang, XiuyingHe*

Science China Life Sciences

Abstract

The pathogenic bacterial genus Xanthomonas infects a wide variety of host plants andcauses devastating diseases in many crops. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) areimportant virulence factors secreted by Xanthomonas with the ability to directly bind to thepromoters of target genes in plant hosts and activate their expression, which often facilitatesthe proliferation of pathogens. Understanding how plants cope with TALEs will providemechanistic insights into crop breeding for Xanthomonas defense. Over the past 30 years,numerous studies have revealed the modes of action of TALEs in plant cells and plant defensestrategies to overcome TALE attack. Based on these findings, new technologies were adoptedfor disease management to optimize crop production. In this article, we will review the mostrecent advances in the evolutionary arms race between plant resistance and TALEs fromXanthomonas, with a specific focus on TALE applications in the development of novelbreeding strategies for durable and broad-spectrum resistance.

Keywords:transcription activator-like effectors, Xanthomonas, susceptibility genes,resistance genes, TALE application

附件：The genetic arms race between plant and Xanthomonas: lessons learned from TALE biology