Plant Phosphatidylinositol Signalling Network in Cotton Resistance to Verticillium Wilt.

Cotton activates a conserved phosphatidylinositol signalling network involving GhPIP5K9a and GhPLDδ that enhances resistance to Verticillium wilt by orchestrating multiple defense mechanisms.

• Why it matters: Verticillium wilt severely impacts cotton yields worldwide, and understanding its resistance mechanisms is crucial for developing durable disease control strategies.
• What they did: The study reviews how core enzymes produce lipid second messengers that regulate membrane reorganization, MAPK cascades, and integrate calcium and hormone signals, with insights from advanced phosphoproteomics and single-cell sequencing.
• The result: This network enables cotton to recognize pathogens, activate defenses like stomatal closure and lignin deposition, and maintain reactive oxygen species balance, offering new targets for improving disease resistance.