Artificial selection of functional genes shapes crops agronomic traits including disease resistance and reproductive development. Recently, Lin et al. (2026) reported that rice nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR) XA48 and its associated transcription factors (TFs) OsVOZ1/2 underwent differential artificial selection upon infection by diverse Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strains. This asymmetric selection has shaped rice resistance to Xoo and grain yield, uncovering a novel NLR-TF immune module (XA48-VOZs). Here, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of this module, the evolutionary implication of its differential selection, and its potential application, particularly in combination with the pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) XA21 for breeding rice varieties with broad-spectrum resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB).
Hu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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