Compositions and methods for enhancing disease resistance in plants are disclosed.

The disclosure relates to a plant that is tolerant or resistant to species of Ca. Liberibacter. Specifically exemplified are citrus and solanaceous plants. Provided by the disclosure is a modified citrus or solanaceous plant that is resistant or tolerant to Sec-dependent effectors secreted by bacteria. Also provided by the disclosure are methods of modifying a plant genome plant to provide tolerance or resistance to species of Ca. Liberibacter. Still further provided by the disclosure are methods conferring a population of plants with tolerance or resistance to species of Ca. Liberibacter and screening that population for the plants that are tolerant or resistant to species of Ca. Liberibacter.

The present invention concerns insecticidal peptides and their uses, in particular as plant protection agents. It also concerns transgenic organisms, in particular transgenic plants, expressing said peptides.

Provided herein is a non-Nicotiana transgenic plant comprising an exogenous polynucleotide encoding Nicotiana benthamiana Roq1 or a variant thereof. These plants have enhanced resistance to at least one species of Xanthomonas, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and/or another pathogen containing a homolog of XopQ whose recognition is mediated by Roq1.

The present invention provides compositions and methods for detecting Candidatus liberibacter infection and Huanglongbing disease in a citrus plant by detecting the expression of small RNAs such as miRNA and siRNA. The invention also provides methods for treating Huanglongbing disease in a citrus plant by contacting the plant with a phosphorus containing solution.

The present invention relates to excision of explant material comprising meristematic tissue from seeds, and storage of such material prior to subsequent use in plant tissue culture and genetic transformation. Methods for tissue preparation, storage, and transformation are disclosed, as is transformable meristem tissue produced by such methods, and apparati for tissue preparation.

A chimeric protein and method of creating genetically altered plant and parts thereof with a chimeric protein wherein the chimeric protein comprises a recognition element and a lysis element connected by a linker wherein the recognition element binds to a pathogen and the lysis element lyses the pathogen and wherein the recognition element is derived from a first protein and the lysis element is derived from a second protein wherein the first protein and the second protein are endogenous to the host to be treated with the chimeric protein.

This disclosure provides methods of downregulating or eliminating gene expression of one or more Dynamic Influencer of Gene expression (DIG) and/or one or more DIG-like (DIL) sequences in plants and plant cells, as well as constructs and compositions useful in such methods. Such recombinant plants can have decreased abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity, decreased salt sensitivity, or both.

The invention provides plants and seeds with enhanced resistance to plant disease caused by plant pathogens, particularly bacterial plant pathogens, and methods for producing such plants and seeds. The plants and seeds comprise mutated alleles of the Bs5 gene and/or Bs5-like gene that are capable of conferring to plants comprising the alleles enhanced resistance to plant pathogens. The present invention further provides methods of using the plants and seeds in agricultural production to limit plant diseases caused by plant pathogens.

Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to compositions and methods for enhancing disease resistance in plants. One aspect of embodiments of the disclosure relates to a nucleic acid construct comprising a nucleic acid molecule comprising a Pseudomonas tomato race 1 (Ptr1) polynucleotide, a 5 heterologous DNA promoter sequence, and a 3 terminator sequence, wherein the nucleic acid molecule, the DNA promoter sequence, and the terminator sequence are operatively coupled to permit transcription of the nucleic acid molecule. Methods of imparting disease resistance to a plant and methods of identifying a candidate plant suitable for breeding that displays enhanced disease resistance are also disclosed. Embodiments of the disclosure also include plant cells, plants, and plant seeds including a heterologous Pseudomonas tomato race 1 (Ptr1) polynucleotide.