Rice blast resistance-inducing mechanisms via effector recognition by NLR immune receptors

Abstract

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most economically devastating diseases of food crops worldwide. Approaches to controlling blast disease have mainly been via the deployment of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs). M. oryzae secretes a battery of small effector proteins to manipulate host functions for its successful infection, and some of them are recognized by host NLR proteins as avirulence effectors (AVRs), which turns on strong immunity. Therefore, the analysis of interactions between AVRs and their cognate NLR proteins provide crucial insights into the molecular basis of plant–fungal interactions.