thought Plants utilize systemic stomatal immunity (SSIM) to rapidly close stomata in distal leaves upon local infection. The mobile signal USIC, an uORF-encoded peptide, travels via the phloem to be sensed by the SIRK1-KIN7 receptor complex, triggering MC4-mediated cleavage and AHA1/PIP2;1 activity.

References:

• Liu C, Yu Q, Jin Y, et al. An uORF-encoded mobile peptide sparks systemic stomatal immunity[J]. Cell, 2026.