Pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote virulence. Despite their recognition by barley Mla resistance genes, the structurally-related Blumeria hordei ( Bh ) AVRA effectors are maintained in the...

Root immunometabolism: balancing defense and accommodationPlant health depends on balanced immune defense and microbial accommodation. As constant contact zones, roots must exclude pathogens while fos...

Here a mechanism for nitrogen fixation maintenance is identified in Medicago truncatula where two polygalacturoneases are expressed in nodules and secreted into the symbiosome space for clearing of ex...

The Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) and the Faculty of Biosciences invite applications for a   Tenure Track Professors...

We analyzed transcriptional networks in barley under single and combined Fusarium head blight (FHB) and drought stress. We applied complementary Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify stress-associated gene co-expression modules and GENIE3 to infer gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Integration of these frameworks revealed strong overlaps between co-expression modules and GRN clusters, highlighting robust regulatory patterns. Key transcription factors (TFs) were identified based on their weighted node degrees, reflecting their connectivity within the network. Independent analysis of paired transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions further supported predicted regulatory interactions. Notably, WRKY TFs emerged as central regulators of FHB response, consistent with their known roles in defense and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, but did not appear in drought-associated contexts. For bHLH or NAC TFs, individual family members steered FHB or drought responses but not both. Our findings demonstrate the power of combining network inference and motif enrichment to identify candidate TFs controlling stress responses, providing a solid foundation for targeted functional validation. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Beneficial root-associated microbes can enhance plant resilience by complementing aspects of host immunity. The fungal root endophyte Serendipita indica (Si) is known to promote plant growth and confe...

Autophagy acts as a pro-survival mechanism in plant roots during beneficial fungal colonization by restricting fungal proliferation and immunometabolic cel

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