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Growing pains: addressing the pitfalls of plant extracellular vesicle research
Author(s) -
Rutter Brian D.,
Innes Roger W.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.16725
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , extracellular vesicles , extracellular vesicle , biology , gene silencing , microbiology and biotechnology , mechanism (biology) , extracellular , microvesicles , microrna , gene , genetics , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology
Summary Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane‐enclosed compartments that mediate the intercellular transport of proteins and small RNAs. In plants, EVs are thought to play a prominent role in immune responses and are being championed as the long‐sought‐after mechanism for host‐induced gene silencing. However, parallel research on mammalian EVs is raising concerns about potential pitfalls faced by all EV researchers that will need to be addressed in order to convincingly establish that EVs are the primary mediators of small RNA transfer between organisms. Here we discuss these pitfalls in the context of plant EV research, with a focus on experimental approaches required to distinguish bona fide EV cargo from merely co‐purifying contaminants.