Cracking the code of plant herbivore defense.

In 1916, Ricca hypothesized that plant defense mediators are transported by xylem vessels. While it was discovered that electrical waves generated at plant wounds also transmit information over great distances, the molecular nature of the so-called Ricca factor remained unclear. In this issue of Cell , Gao et al. identify thioglucoside glucohydrolases as a Ricca factor in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]