Meloidogyne incognita

Gene

Cell biology

Extracellular vesicles

Ecology

Biology

Terra incognita

Computational biology

Nematode

Genetics

Arabidopsis

Mutant

Effector

New Phytologist

Summary Molecular plant–fungal interaction studies have mainly focused on small secreted protein effectors. However, accumulating evidence shows that numerous fungal secondary metabolites are produced at all stages of plant colonization, especially during early asymptomatic/biotrophic phases. The discovery of fungal small RNA s targeting plant transcripts has expanded the fungal repertoire of nonproteinaceous effectors even further. The challenge now is to develop specific functional methods to fully understand the biological roles of these effectors. Studies on fungal extracellular vesicles are also needed because they could be the universal carriers of all kinds of fungal effectors. With this review, we aim to stimulate the nonproteinaceous effector research field to move from descriptive to functional studies, which should bring a paradigm shift in plant–fungal interactions.

Nonproteinaceous effectors: the <i>terra incognita</i> of plant–fungal interactions

Nonproteinaceous effectors: the terra incognita of plant–fungal interactions