Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane‐enclosed compartments that mediate the intercellular transport of proteins and small RNAs. In plants, EVs are thought to play a prominent role in immune responses and are being championed as the long‐sought‐after mechanism for host‐induced gene silencing. However, parallel research on mammalian EVs is raising concerns about potential pitfalls faced by all EV researchers that will need to be addressed in order to convincingly establish that EVs are the primary mediators of small RNA transfer between organisms. Here we discuss these pitfalls in the context of plant EV research, with a focus on experimental approaches required to distinguish bona fide EV cargo from merely co‐purifying contaminants.

中文翻译：

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成长的烦恼：解决植物细胞外囊泡研究的陷阱。

细胞外囊泡（EVs）是膜包裹的小隔间，介导蛋白质和小RNA的细胞间转运。在植物中，电动汽车被认为在免疫反应中起着重要的作用，并被人们提倡作为宿主诱导的基因沉默的长期机制。然而，对哺乳动物电动汽车的平行研究引起了对所有电动汽车研究人员面临的潜在陷阱的担忧，需要令人信服的研究，才能令人信服地确定电动汽车是生物体之间小RNA转移的主要媒介。在这里，我们将在植物电动汽车研究的背景下讨论这些陷阱，重点是将真正的电动汽车货物与仅共同净化的污染物区分开所需的实验方法。