Hacking the immune system: plant immune protease engineering for crop protection

Mariana Schuster; Alexander L Ciattoni; Renier A L van der Hoorn

doi:10.1093/jxb/eraf137

Hacking the immune system: plant immune protease engineering for crop protection

J Exp Bot. 2025 Oct 1;76(15):4207-4211. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eraf137.

Authors

Mariana Schuster¹, Alexander L Ciattoni¹, Renier A L van der Hoorn²

Affiliations

¹ Receptor Biochemistry Group, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
² The Plant Chemetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Park Road, OX1 3RB Oxford, UK.

Abstract

Genome engineering technologies allow the generation of crops with increased disease resistance, though selecting suitable targets remains challenging. Our team has published two recent studies that highlight the potential of engineering plant immune proteases as an alternative approach to generating disease resistant plants.

Keywords: Crop protection; plant; protease; protein engineering.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Crop Protection*
Crops, Agricultural* / enzymology
Crops, Agricultural* / genetics
Crops, Agricultural* / immunology
Disease Resistance / genetics
Peptide Hydrolases* / genetics
Peptide Hydrolases* / immunology
Peptide Hydrolases* / metabolism
Plant Diseases* / immunology
Plant Immunity* / genetics
Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics
Plants, Genetically Modified / immunology

Substances

Peptide Hydrolases

Grants and funding

DFG-514901783/Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft