Summary: SWEETs play important roles in intercellular sugar transport. Induction of SWEET sugar transporters by Transcription Activator‐Like effectors (TALe) of Xanthomonas ssp. is key for virulence in rice, cassava and cotton. We identified OsSWEET11b with roles in male fertility and potential bacterial blight (BB) susceptibility in rice. While single ossweet11a or 11b mutants were fertile, double mutants were sterile. As clade III SWEETs can transport gibberellin (GA), a key hormone for spikelet fertility, sterility and BB susceptibility might be explained by GA transport deficiencies. However, in contrast with the Arabidopsis homologues, OsSWEET11b did not mediate detectable GA transport. Fertility and susceptibility therefore are likely to depend on sucrose transport activity. Ectopic induction of OsSWEET11b by designer TALe enabled TALe‐free Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) to cause disease, identifying OsSWEET11b as a potential BB susceptibility gene and demonstrating that the induction of host sucrose uniporter activity is key to virulence of Xoo. Notably, only three of six clade III SWEETs are targeted by known Xoo strains from Asia and Africa. The identification of OsSWEET11b is relevant for fertility and for protecting rice against emerging Xoo strains that target OsSWEET11b.

Gram-negative Burkholderia bacteria are known for causing diseases in humans, animals, and plants, and high intrinsic resistance to antibiotics. Phage therapy is a promising alternative to control multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Here, we present an overview of Burkholderia phage characteristics, host specificity, genomic classification, and therapeutic potentials across medical, veterinary, and agricultural systems. We evaluate the efficacy and limitations of current phage candidates, the biological and environmental barriers of phage applications, and the phage cocktail strategy. We highlight the innovations on the development of targeted phage delivery systems and the transition from the exploration of clinical phage therapy to plant disease management, advocating integrated disease control strategies.

Summary: SWEETs play important roles in intercellular sugar transport. Induction of SWEET sugar transporters by transcription activator-like effectors (TALe) of Xanthomonas ssp. is a key factor for bacterial leaf blight (BLB) infection of rice, cassava and cotton. Here, we identified the so far unknown OsSWEET11b with roles in male fertility and BLB susceptibility in rice. While single ossweet11a or b mutants were fertile, double mutants were sterile. Since clade III SWEETs can transport gibberellin (GA), a key hormone for rice spikelet fertility, sterility and BLB susceptibility might be explained by GA transport deficiencies. However, in contrast to the Arabidopsis homologs, OsSWEET11b did not mediate detectable GA transport. Fertility and susceptibility must therefore depend on SWEET11b-mediated sucrose transport. Ectopic induction of OsSWEET11b by designer TALe enables TALe-free Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ) to cause disease, identifying OsSWEET11b as a BLB susceptibility gene and demonstrating that the induction of host sucrose uniporter activity is key to virulence of Xoo . Notably, only three of now six clade III SWEETs are targeted by known Xoo strains from Asia and Africa. The identification of OsSWEET11b has relevance in the context of fertility and for protecting rice against emerging Xoo strains that evolve TALes to exploit OsSWEET11b .

Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are major virulence factors of Xanthomonas oryzae, the causal agent of bacterial blight in rice. The BED-domain nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptor Xa1 confers resistance by recognizing TALEs, but the mechanisms underlying Xa1 activation remain unclear. Here we show that structurally conserved canonical TALEs differ in their ability to activate Xa1, revealing unexpected specificity in effector recognition. Using transient expression assays, endogenous epitope tagging, and prime editing of the native Xa1 locus, we demonstrate that nuclear localization is essential for Xa1-mediated immunity. We identified three functional nuclear localization signals (NLSs) within the Xa1 N-terminal region. Prime-edited rice lines carrying mutations in these motifs exhibited compromised resistance, with mutation of the first NLS causing the strongest susceptibility phenotype. Disruption of the NLS motifs in either Xa1 or TALEs did not prevent their physical interaction, indicating that effector binding can occur independently of nuclear localization. However, only nuclear-localized Xa1 triggered cytosolic Ca2+ influx, a hallmark of immune activation. Together, our results establish nuclear localization as a prerequisite for Xa1 immune function and reveal a nuclear surveillance mechanism for BED-NLR–mediated immunity in plants.