Chinese scientists have developed a programmable synthetic plant immune system that could pave the way for crops with broader and more durable resistance to disease, marking a significant advance in plant immune engineering.
The research, led by a team from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published online in the journal Science on July 24.
According to the researchers, the breakthrough establishes an on-demand design platform for synthetic plant immune receptors, offering a potential universal approach to developing crops with long-lasting resistance against a wide range of pathogens.
For centuries, breeding disease-resistant crops has depended on identifying naturally occurring resistance genes. However, the complex structure of natural plant immune receptors has made them difficult to engineer, while discovering new resistance genes remains a slow and resource-intensive process.
The Chinese team said it overcame these challenges by focusing on a unique class of atypical immune receptors that use compact, modular “decoy” domains to recognise pathogen proteins.
The researchers said the approach could provide a new technical pathway for the precise design of plant immune receptors tailored to defend against specific diseases, potentially improving crop resilience and agricultural productivity.