Abstract
Rice is a staple food for more than half of the global population. Rice production is, however, severely affected by biotic and abiotic stresses. Fertilisers and pesticides are widely used in rice farming to maintain optimal yield and to prevent losses caused by environmental stress. However, the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals has adverse effects on the environment and human health. Stress caused by nutrient excess or deficiency has an impact on plant disease resistance. The interference of plant responses induced by nutrient stress can result in a positive or negative impact on resistance to pathogen infection. In this review, we explore the effects of combined stresses in rice, focusing on nutrient stress, such as nitrogen and phosphorous supply, and infection by fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease. Crosstalk between nutrient stress-induced and pathogen-induced signalling pathways in rice is discussed, as well, with particular emphasis on regulatory microRNAs. Understanding the interconnected regulations between nutrient stress and disease resistance will lay a foundation for rationally optimising fertiliser and pesticide use in rice production.
Highlights
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important crops in the world and a staple food for more than half of the global population
We present an overview of the major biotic stresses that affect rice production, with special emphasis on the rice blast disease
As pathogen infection causes major problems in rice cultivation, and nutrient stress can be a factor in disease resistance, in this review we describe problems associated with inadequate supply of nutrients in resistance to pathogen, focusing on blast resistance
Summary
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important crops in the world and a staple food for more than half of the global population. To meet the forecasted demand of rice, posed by the increasing human population, rice production must significantly increase This needs to be achieved within the declining arable land, due to urbanisation, which is often polluted by agrochemicals and industrialisation. A monocotyledonous plant species, originated around 9000 years ago in the Yangtze Valley (China) and it has a long history of natural selection and domestication [2]. It belongs to the genus Oryza which includes the two cultivated species, the Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and the African rice (Oryza glaberrima). We discuss the relevance of miRNAs in crosstalk between nutrient stress and immune signalling in plants, in rice
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