Evolutionarily conserved partial gene duplication in the Triticeae tribe of grasses confers pathogen resistance.
Jeyaraman RajaramanDimitar DouchkovStefanie LückGötz HenselDaniela NowaraMaria PogodaTwan RuttenTobias MeitzelJonathan BrassacCaroline HöfleRalph HückelhovenJörn KlinkenbergMarco TrujilloEva BauerThomas SchmutzerAxel HimmelbachMartin MascherBarbara LazzariNils SteinJochen KumlehnPatrick SchweizerPublished in: Genome biology (2018)
The results suggest neo-functionalization of the partial gene copy HvARM1 increases resistance against powdery mildew infection. It further links plastid function with susceptibility to biotrophic pathogen attack. These findings shed new light on a novel mechanism to employ partial duplication of protein-protein interaction domains to facilitate the expansion of immune signaling networks.