First insights into the genes that control plant-bacterial interactions

Abstract

The events leading up to the cloning of the first bacterial avirulence gene, avrA, from Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea are described. The cloning of this gene marked the beginning of the molecular analyses of bacterial effectors and has paved the way for determining of the role of bacterial effectors in pathogen virulence and the triggering of plant innate immunity.