Science · 3 September 2026 · From issue 33
Programmable design of synthetic plant immune receptors for pathogen protein recognition
Engineered plant sensors detect virus, bacteria, fungus, and other pathogen proteins, and give plants disease resistance.
Haocheng Zhu, Dandan Jiang et al.
Plants have natural sensors that spot invaders and trigger defenses. Scientists built new sensors by fitting custom-made recognition parts onto one of these natural sensors. The new sensors could detect proteins from viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens. Plants carrying these engineered sensors resisted disease better than normal plants.
Shown in engineered lab plants only, not tested yet in farm conditions.
Lab plants only, no field trials yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 10 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Science). Read the source
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