Xiang’s work on heterologous expression of sulfated peptides is published in Science Advances as part of a tour de force effort to identify an activator of an important innate immune receptor in plants! This project, led by the Ronald Lab at UC Davis, shows that a previously undescribed protein from a pathogenic Xanthomonas species triggers the immune response in rice plants. The protein is sulfated on tyrosine 41 and a heterologously-expressed sulfated peptide derivative, produced using our expanded genetic code system, is sufficient to trigger immunity. We are excited to help our collaborators pursue further studies of sulfated peptides in plant immunity and to develop sulfated peptides as therapeutic reagents for plants and animals.