Extracellular vesicles as key mediators of plant-microbe interactions

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid compartments capable of trafficking proteins, lipids, RNA and metabolites between cells. Plant cells have been shown to secrete EVs during immune responses, but virtually nothing is known about their formation, contents or ultimate function. Recently developed methods for isolating plant EVs have revealed that these EVs are enriched in stress response proteins and signaling lipids, and appear to display antifungal activity. Comparison to work on animal EVs, and the observation that host-derived small interfering RNAs and microRNAs can silence fungal genes, suggests that plant EVs may also mediate trans-kingdom RNA interference. Many fundamental questions remain, however, regarding how plant EVs are produced, how they move, and if and how they are taken up by target cells.