The Xa7 Resistance Gene Guards the Susceptibility Gene SWEET14 of Rice Against Exploitation by Bacterial Blight Pathogen

TAL effectors of bacteria hijack host gene expression to condition disease susceptibility, while host plants counteract TAL effectors with resistance genes to thwart pathogen infections. Here we report the cloning of Xa7, TAL effector-specific expression by the essential virulence TAL effectors AvrXa7 and PthXo3, and the prevalence of Xa7 in indica rice cultivars.