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Cover image

Biotrophic filamentous phytopathogens such as powderymildews form feeding structures called haustoria inside host cells for plant-fungus recognition and nutrient uptake. The haustorium is enveloped by a highly specialized extrahaustorial membrane (EHM) that separated each haustorium from the cytoplasm of its host cell. Qin et al. (pages 1665-1688) showed that among the two plasma membrane phosphoinositides in Arabidopsis, only PI(4,5)P2, but not PI4P, is selectively targeted to the EHM. Their results reveal that plant biotrophic and hemibiotrophic pathogens modulate the subcellular redistribution of host phosphoinositides and recruit PI(4,5)P2 as a susceptibility factor for plant disease. The cover image displays the hyphal development and haustorial formation of the powdery mildew fungus Erysiphe cichoracearum on Arabidopsis Col-0 at seven days after inoculation. The image is captured by confocal microscopy for surface hyphae and haustoria staining with Alexa Fluor® 488 conjugate of wheat germ agglutinin (green) and callose appositions staining with aniline blue (magenta) at the pathogen penetration sites.