C. L. Casteel

Viral protease NIa-Pro increases MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 cleavage and plant susceptibility to turnip mosaic virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae.

This study shows that the viral protease NIa-Pro cleaves MED16, reducing plant defenses against TuMV and its aphid vector, thereby increasing virus and aphid performance.

The potyviral protein 6K2 from Turnip mosaic virus increases plant resilience to drought

This study shows that the TuMV protein 6K2 increases drought tolerance in Arabidopsis and Nicotiana benthamiana, with effects independent of ABA signaling.

Legume plant defenses and nutrients mediate indirect interactions between soil rhizobia and chewing herbivores

This study shows that chewing herbivores interact with soil rhizobia through plant-mediated pathways, affecting both herbivore feeding and rhizobial symbiosis.

The potyviral protein 6K1 reduces plant protease activity during Turnip mosaic virus infection

This study shows that the TuMV 6K1 protein reduces protease activity and affects jasmonic acid biosynthesis, enhancing virus accumulation in systemic leaves.

Plant responses to multiple antagonists are mediated by order of attack and phytohormone crosstalk

This study shows that plant responses to multiple antagonists depend on attack order and phytohormone interactions, with some interactions being antagonistic and others synergistic.

An acylsugar-deficient Nicotiana benthamiana strain for aphid and whitefly research

This paper generates an acylsugar-deficient Nicotiana benthamiana mutant to improve studies of plant-insect interactions and virus transmission.

Tomato fruit susceptibility to fungal disease can be uncoupled from ripening by suppressing susceptibility factors

This study identifies pectate lyase (PL) as a susceptibility factor in tomato fruit ripening, showing that suppressing PL reduces fungal disease susceptibility without affecting defense responses.

Optimizing the PBS1 Decoy System to Confer Resistance to Potyvirus Infection in Arabidopsis and Soybean

This paper engineers a PBS1 decoy system to confer resistance to potyvirus infection in Arabidopsis and soybean by modifying PBS1 to be cleaved by viral proteases, resulting in complete resistance to TuMV and SMV.