A paralogous decoy protects Phytophthora sojae apoplastic effector PsXEG1 from a host inhibitor

Host-pathogen point-counterpoint The arms race between pathogen and host is a well-known phenomenon. Ma et al. have now identified how an enzymatically inactive protein can abet a pathogen's infectivity. The pathogenic oomycete Phytophthora sojae secretes xyloglucanase that damages soybean cell walls. Soybean, in turn, secretes a defense protein that binds to and inactivates the xyloglucanase. To counteract this plant defense, the oomycete deploys a product of its own gene duplication: an inactive enzyme that binds the plant's defense protein. With the defense protein unproductively bound to the decoy, the oomycete can successfully invade the soybean cells. Science , this issue p. 710