Scientists engineer plant receptors to fight blast fungus threatening crops

Researchers at the John Innes Centre modified tandem kinase protein (TKP) immune receptors so they recognize two effectors of Magnaporthe oryzae, the fungus behind rice blast. The disease destroys enough rice each year to feed about 60 million people.

• Rice blast fungus destroys enough rice annually to feed 60 million people
• Scientists modified TKP receptors to detect two fungal effectors at once
• Dual specificity is rare in naturally occurring plant immune receptors
• Tests so far used wheat protoplasts; whole-plant trials are next