Phytoplasmas are plant pathogenic prokaryotes lacking cell wall, inhabiting phloem sieve elements in infected plants and have a unique life cycle among pathogens as they invade organisms of two distinct kingdoms, namely Plantae (plants) and Animalia (insects) and replicate intracellularly in both of them. Effectors are proteins secreted by a microbial pathogen into a host cell to enhance colonization and facilitate multiplication of the pathogens. In plants these effectors unload from the phloem to access distant tissues and alter basic developmental processes. | Phytoplasma effectors and their role in plant-insect interaction
