Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

An Easy and Flexible Inoculation Method for Accurately Assessing Powdery Mildew-Infection Phenotypes of Arabidopsis and Other Plants
Published on: March 9, 2021
mlo-based powdery mildew immunity: silver bullet or simply non-host resistance?
Matt Humphry1, Chiara Consonni, Ralph Panstruga
1Max-Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Department of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, D-50829 Köln, Germany.
Abstract:
SUMMARY Durability and effectiveness against all genetic variants of a microbial species are hallmarks of so-called plant 'non-host' resistance. Highly effective immunity of monocotyledonous barley against the fungal powdery mildew pathogen, which is conferred by loss-of-function mutant alleles of the barley Mlo locus, likewise is a durable and broad-spectrum type of resistance. Although this was long considered as being a barley-specific phenomenon, recent findings indicate that mlo resistance can also occur in the distantly related dicotyledonous species Arabidopsis thaliana. Shared histological and phytopathological characteristics plus a conserved requirement for a set of genes in Arabidopsis mlo and non-host powdery mildew resistance indicate a potential common mechanism for these two seemingly distinct types of immunity.
Related Concept Videos
Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
Clinical Significance of Antibiotic Resistance
Cell-mediated Immune Responses
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...
Special Features of Adaptive Immunity
The primary cell types involved in adaptive immunity are T cells and B cells. Each type has a unique role in defending the body against pathogens. T cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. They identify and eliminate infected cells directly,...

