Plant immunity in soybean: progress, strategies, and perspectives

Soybean ( Glycine max ) is one of the most important commercial crops worldwide. Soybean hosts diverse microbes, including pathogens that may cause diseases and symbionts that contribute to nitrogen fixation. Study on soybean–microbe interactions to understand pathogenesis, immunity, and symbiosis represents an important research direction toward plant protection in soybean. In terms of immune mechanisms, current research in soybean lags far behind that in the model plants Arabidopsis and rice. In this review, we summarized the shared and unique mechanisms involved in the two-tiered plant immunity and the virulence function of pathogen effectors between soybean and Arabidopsis , providing a molecular roadmap for future research on soybean immunity. We also discussed disease resistance engineering and future perspectives in soybean.