Suppression of host innate immunity appears to be required for the establishment of symbiosis between rhizobia and host plants. In this study, we established a system that included a host plant, a bacterial pathogen and a symbiotic rhizobium to study the role of innate immunity during symbiotic interactions. A pathogenic bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 (Pst DC3000), was...

In many cases, patients allergic to birch pollen also show allergic reactions after ingestion of certain fruits or vegetables. This observation is explained at the molecular level by cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies induced by sensitization to the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 with homologous food allergens. As IgE antibodies recognize conformational epitopes, a precise structural chara...

While it is not possible to directly the observe evolution of multigene families, the best alternative is to compare orthologous family members among several closely-related species with varying degrees of reproductive isolation. Using RT-PCR we show that in pea (Pisum sativum) each member of the pathogenesis-related PR10 family has a distinct pattern of expression in response to the fungus Fus...

Phytophthora root and stem rot of soybean caused by the oomycete Phytophthora sojae, is a destructive disease worldwide. Ethylene response factors (ERFs) play important roles in regulating plant biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, a new ERF gene, GmERF113, was isolated from the highly resistant soybean 'Suinong 10.' Sequence analysis suggested that the protein encoded by GmERF11...

The necrotrophic fungus Rhizoctonia cerealis is a major pathogen of sharp eyespot that is a devastating disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Little is known about roles of MYB genes in wheat defense response to R. cerealis. In this study, TaRIM1, a R. cerealis-induced wheat MYB gene, was identified by transcriptome analysis, then cloned from resistant wheat CI12633, and its function and prelim...

WRKY transcription factors form a large family that plays a role in plant responses to biotic stress and during senescence. Defining in vivo relevant WRKY/promoter relationships has been hampered by the factors’ indiscriminate binding to known W box DNA elements and their possible genetic redundance. Employing chromatin immunoprecipitations (ChIP) of cultured cells, we show that parsley (Petros...

WRKY transcription factors form a large family that plays a role in plant responses to biotic stress and during senescence. Defining in vivo relevant WRKY/promoter relationships has been hampered by the factors' indiscriminate binding to known W box DNA elements and their possible genetic redundance. Employing chromatin immunoprecipitations (ChIP) of cultured cells, we show that parsley (Petros...

Elegant works such as the paper of Pastor-Vargas and colleagues have shown that some of the most allergenic proteinsincluding also the Pru p3-come into contact with the immune system of the infant well before six months [3]. As well as other proteins that are introduced prematurely, these are at the same time very dangerous. For example, concerning the PR10, we have introduced carrots in the ve...