GoKawiilStudy identifies rice protein NVR1 that detects insect salivary signal 2′,3′-cNMP
Researchers studying rice and the stink bug Nezara viridula found that insect saliva deposited during feeding contains a small signalling molecule, 2′,3′-cNMP, produced by salivary effector proteins. They identified a plant RNA-binding protein, NVR1, that senses this molecule and used CRISPR knockouts and overexpression lines in rice and Nicotiana benthamiana, alongside related GRP7/GRP8 genes, to probe how plants detect insect attack at the molecular level.