In an article, “A soybean cyst nematode resistance gene points to a new mechanism of plant resistance to pathogens,” published on the 13th December issue of Nature (Nature: 492, 256–260, Shiming Liu and 16 of his associates affiliated to five universities in the USA, report of a resistant gene at the Rhg4 (for resistance to a nematode, Heterodera glycines 4) locus, a major quantitative trait locus contributing to resistance to this  nematode – a dangerous pathogen which causes extensive damage to this crop to the tune of more than US$1 billion in yield losses annually in the United States alone.  The gene encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase, an enzyme that  occurs everywhere in nature and structurally conserved across kingdoms. The enzyme is responsible for interconversion of serine and glycine and is essential for cellular one-carbon metabolism. The important information reported here will pave the way to come up with some resistant strains of this globally important crop.