Many plant-encoded E3 ligases are known to be involved in plant defense. Ramu et al. report a novel role of E3 ligase SALT- AND DROUGHT-INDUCED RING FINGER1 (SDIR1) in plant immunity. Their research suggests that SDIR1 is a susceptibility factor and its activation or overexpression enhances disease caused by P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 in Arabidopsis.