Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41872469›Full record

ArticleNature plants2026

Rice false smut fungus hijacks rice lipid signalling to manipulate floret development and immunity.

Yuandi Xu, Juan Jin, Yuhe Zhang, Xin Wang, Fan Yang, Shuang Wu, Yixin Gao, Jing-Ni Wu, Yiming Wang, Meixiang Zhang and 6 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Nature plants, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Rooting for heterosis.Nature plants · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Yuandi XuState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Juan JinState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Yuhe ZhangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Xin WangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Fan YangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Shuang WuState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Yixin GaoState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Jing-Ni WuState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Yiming WangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0513-9039
Meixiang ZhangCollege of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
Xinyu LiuState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Muxing LiuState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Leiyun YangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Gang LiState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Zhengguang ZhangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8253-4505
Haifeng ZhangState Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. hfzhang@njau.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7963-9071

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rice false smut, caused by Ustilaginoidea virens, increases the proportion of unfilled grains and reduces pollen viability in infected rice panicles. Although the fungus adopts a flower-specific infection strategy that interferes with fertilization, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that U. virens manipulates rice floret development and immune responses during early infection by targeting host lipid signalling. We identified secreted in xylem protein 1 (Sxp1) as a secreted apoplastic effector induced under nutrient-rich conditions and during early infection. Ectopic expression of Sxp1 in rice causes near-complete spikelet sterility and markedly reduced pollen viability. Sxp1 is a key virulence factor and interacts with the lipid transfer protein LTPL113, which binds phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine, and is essential for pollen development and lipid-potentiated immune outputs. Sxp1 disrupts the association between LTPL113 and lipids, thereby compromising lipid-mediated immunity and floret development. Together, our findings reveal a mechanism by which U. virens hijacks lipid signalling to manipulate floret development and suppress immunity.

Indexed as

FlowersLipid MetabolismOryzaPlant DiseasesPlant ImmunityUstilaginalesHypocrealesPlant ProteinsPollenSignal TransductionPlant Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41872469

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.