Abstract
It has been recognized that cytokinins are plant hormones that influence not only numerous aspects of plant growth, development and physiology, including cell division, chloroplast differentiation and delay of senescence but the interaction with other organisms, including pathogens. Cytokinins are not only produced by plants but are also by other prokaryotic and eukaryotic organism such as bacteria, fungi, microalgae and insects. Notably, cytokinins are produced both by pathogenic and also beneficial microbes and are known to induce resistance in plants against pathogen infections. In this review the contrasting role of cytokinin for the defence and susceptibility of plants against bacterial and fungal pathogen and pest insects is assessed. We also discuss the cross talk of cytokinins with other phytohormones and the underlying mechanism involved in enhancing plant immunity against pathogen infections and explore possible practical applications in crop plant production.
Highlights
Plant hormones (Phytohormones) are naturally occurring small organic molecules that affect numerous aspects of growth and differentiation in plants and are involved in alleviating different biotic and abiotic stresses (Davies, 2010)
After a direct role of the classical plant growth stimulating phytohormone CK in the activation of plant defence had been recognized in the early 2010s, the production of CK by beneficial microorganisms is being recognized as relevant and widespread for inter-kingdom signaling to increase the immunity of plants against pathogens and pests (Figure 1)
The microbial derived CKs are interacting with other plant hormone signaling pathways in a similar way as plant derived CKs being integrated in plant signaling networks and inducing the direct synthesis of phytoalexins
Summary
Plant hormones (Phytohormones) are naturally occurring small organic molecules that affect numerous aspects of growth and differentiation in plants and are involved in alleviating different biotic and abiotic stresses (Davies, 2010). An increasing experimental evidence support the role of CKs in enhancing plant resistance against plant pathogen such as bacteria, fungi and pest insects (Table 1).
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