N-glycosylation code diversifies paralogous chitinases to balance plant immunity and growth.

N-glycosylation determines functional divergence of paralogous chitinases, enabling plants to balance immunity and growth, with MIC1 and MIC2 showing distinct roles.

• Why it matters: Understanding how plants separate immune responses from growth inhibition is crucial for improving crop resilience without sacrificing development, addressing a key challenge in plant biology.
• What they did: The study identified two chitinases in Arabidopsis, MIC1 and MIC2, with MIC1 being glycosylated at Asn137; removing this glycan switches MIC1 to a MIC2-like activity, revealing the role of N-glycosylation.
• The result: This N-glycosylation code offers a conserved mechanism to enhance fungal resistance while maintaining growth, providing a molecular target for crop breeding strategies.