Pathogenicity and virulence of Xanthomonas in plants: Toward understanding specificity and achieving durable genetic resistance.

Xanthomonas plant pathogens infect over 400 host species, and their infection and virulence strategies are tightly linked to host and tissue specificity.

• Why it matters: Durable genetic resistance depends on understanding how these bacteria survive in the phyllosphere, enter plant tissue, and counter host immunity across different compartments.
• What they did: This review synthesizes knowledge on Xanthomonas infection and virulence, emphasizing host/tissue specificity and covering cell surface, intracellular, and Xanthomonas-specific immunity.
• The result: Insights into compartment-specific immunity are proposed as foundations for engineered defense, guiding continued research into diverse virulence mechanisms and countering plant defense.

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