Leaf it to science: Uncovering plant immune systems through technological advances

For the past 2 yr, I have been contemplating how best to write this review that not only reflects on a few significant and nostalgic moments in my more than 3 decades of professional career in the molecular plant-microbe interaction field, but also offers my personal outlook on the future aimed at inspiring young scientists to join this exciting discipline. Rather than a comprehensive overview, I would like to place greater emphasis on the "whys" and the "hows" than the "whats." I finally decided to use technological advancements critical for the development of our field as a thread to connect the past with the future.