A team of researchers from the University of Missouri (MU) found that plants
produce a molecular signal that invites a pathogen attack. Scott Peck,
biochemistry professor in the Bond Life Sciences Center at MU and research
team leader said that scientists paid a lot of attention to how plants and
other organisms recognize and respond to invading microbes, but little
attention has been paid to how the signals transmitted by the organisms that
are being attacked play a role in the process.

They found out that signaling system in the plant triggers a structure in
bacteria shaped like a syringe which is used to "inject" the bacteria's
harmful proteins into its target. They also found a group of five acids from
plants that trigger the bacteria. The results of their research show that a
plant can disguise itself from pathogen recognition by removing the signals
needed by the pathogen to become fully virulent. The team's discovery will
help scientists develop plants with strong resistance to infection and
create natural defenses for plants that could render bacteria harmless.

[munews.missouri.edu]