| Popis: |
Plants are exposed to a plethora of microorganisms in their environment. A number of these microorganisms are plant pathogens. In order to defend themselves against pathogen attack, plants have evolved specialized sensory receptors to recognize some of the conserved molecular features (PAMPs, DAMPs, HAMPs, and NAMPs) as well as secreted effector molecules of pathogens. A cascade of signal transduction events are triggered which causes transcriptional rewiring leading to activation of defense responses. Closure of stomata, strengthening of cell wall along with accumulation of secondary metabolites, and induction of a hypersensitive response (HR) and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins are some of the key defense strategies of the host. Interestingly, through secretion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), plants have the ability to induce defense responses in uninfected tissues as well as surrounding plants. In this chapter, we elaborate on the mechanisms by which plants perceive pathogen attack and transduce the signal to downstream signaling molecules, culminating in the activation of defense responses. |
