An epic war between an oomycete pathogen and plants

Oomycetes, commonly known as water molds and phylogenetically belonging to stramenopiles, can infect a wide range of plants and animals, with some members eliciting the most destructive plant diseases and posing severe threats to global food security and natural ecosystems ( Thines, 2018 Thines M. Curr. Biol. 2018; 28: R812-R813https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.062 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (19) Google Scholar ). For example, Phytophthora infestans causes potato late blight and triggered the Irish Famine in the 1840s, and Phytophthora sojae damages soybean production worldwide. Breeding resistant cultivars is the most efficient measure for managing the diseases instigated by oomycetes, but the success of the endeavor requires a sound and deep understanding of the molecular basis underlying pathogen–host interactions. Recently, Sun et al., 2022 Sun Y. Wang Y. Zhang X. Chen Z. Xia Y. Wang L. Sun Y. Zhang M. Xiao Y. Han Z. et al. Plant receptor-like protein activation by a microbial glycoside hydrolase. Nature. 2022; 610: 335-342https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05214-x Crossref PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar elucidated the mechanism underlying the recognition of XEG1, a key virulent effector of P. sojae, by host immune receptor through combining genetic, molecular, and structural approaches, which represents a significant step forward in deeply understanding the infection biology and host immune responses in oomycete diseases.