Abstract
Plants reside within an environment rich in potential pathogens. Survival in the presence of such threats requires both effective perception of, and appropriate responses to, pathogenic attack. While plants lack an adaptive immune system, they have a highly developed and responsive innate immune system able to detect and inhibit the growth of the vast majority of potential pathogens. Many of the critical interactions that characterize the relationship between plants and pathogens are played out in the intercellular apoplastic space. The initial perception of pathogen invasion is often achieved through specific plant receptor-like kinases that recognize conserved molecular patterns presented by the pathogen or respond to the molecular debris caused by cellular damage. The perception of either microbial or damage signals by these receptors initiates a response that includes the production of peptides and small molecules to enhance cellular integrity and inhibit pathogen growth. In this review, we discuss the roles of apoplastic peptides and small molecules in modulating plant-pathogen interactions.
Highlights
Plants are armed with a sophisticated array of preformed mechanical and chemical barriers to defend themselves against invasion and colonization by pathogens
In Arabidopsis, the coupling of bioinformatic predictions of all candidate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) with the availability of insertional mutants allows for reverse genetic screens to rapidly screen a limited number of plant genotypes for loss of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) perception
The goal was pursued through selective plant breeding, but modern science has allowed for a more rational approach by elucidating the molecular determinants of plant disease and immunity
Summary
Plants are armed with a sophisticated array of preformed mechanical and chemical barriers to defend themselves against invasion and colonization by pathogens. The plant protects both the leaf surface and apoplastic space with a host of constitutively produced defensive molecules collectively called phytoanticipins, which act to prevent pathogen colonization and infection (reviewed in González-Lamothe et al, 2009). The plant has in turn evolved nucleotide binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) resistance proteins, which allow for the direct or indirect detection of the pathogen effectors This secondary immunity is termed effector-triggered immunity (ETI) and is often accompanied by the hypersensitive response, a localized cell death that limits infection, as well as systemic acquired resistance (SAR), which protects distal tissues from subsequent infections (reviewed in Durrant and Dong, 2004). In this review we will highlight studies of the peptides and small molecules produced by both pathogens and plants in the apoplastic space which mediate the relationship between the organisms
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