Abstract
Disease control is largely based on the use of fungicides, bactericides, and insecticides—chemical compounds toxic to plant invaders, causative agents, or vectors of plant diseases. However, the hazardous effect of these chemicals or their degradation products on the environment and human health strongly necessitates the search for new, harmless means of disease control. There must be some natural phenomenon of induced resistance to protect plants from disease. Elicitors are compounds, which activate chemical defense in plants. Various biosynthetic pathways are activated in treated plants depending on the compound used. Commonly tested chemical elicitors are salicylic acid, methyl salicylate, benzothiadiazole, benzoic acid, chitosan, and so forth which affect production of phenolic compounds and activation of various defense-related enzymes in plants. Their introduction into agricultural practice could minimize the scope of chemical control, thus contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture. This paper chiefly highlights the uses of elicitors aiming to draw sufficient attention of researchers to the frontier research needed in this context.
Highlights
Plants are challenged by a variety of biotic stresses like fungal, bacterial, or viral infections. is lead to a great loss to plant yield. ere are various options available for the farmers to protect their crop from the disease
Jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene dependent responses seem to be initiated by necrotrophs, whereas salicylic acid (SA) dependent response is activated by biotrophic pathogens. e mechanisms responsible for this differential recognition and response may involve crosstalk among these three different signal transduction pathways: JA, ethylene, and SA
The activation of signal transduction pathways generally lead to the production of active oxygen species (AOS), phytoalexin biosynthesis, reinforcement of plant cell wall associated with phenyl propanoid compounds, deposition of callose, synthesis of defense enzymes, and the accumulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, some of which possess antimicrobial properties [4]
Summary
Plants are challenged by a variety of biotic stresses like fungal, bacterial, or viral infections. is lead to a great loss to plant yield. ere are various options available for the farmers to protect their crop from the disease. Plants can activate separate defense pathways depending on the type of pathogen encountered [2]. E better understanding of plant signalling pathways has led to the discovery of natural and synthetic compounds called elicitors that induce similar defense responses in plants as induced by the pathogen infection [3]. The activation of signal transduction pathways generally lead to the production of active oxygen species (AOS), phytoalexin biosynthesis, reinforcement of plant cell wall associated with phenyl propanoid compounds, deposition of callose, synthesis of defense enzymes, and the accumulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, some of which possess antimicrobial properties [4]. Following the activation of HR, uninfected distal parts of the plant may develop resistance to further infection, by a phenomenon known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR), which is effective against diverse pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
