The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance

Künstler, András; Gullner, Gábor; Ádám, Attila L.; Kolozsváriné Nagy, Judit; Király, Lóránt

doi:10.3390/plants9121705

Open AccessReview

The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance

by

András Künstler

,

Gábor Gullner

,

Attila L. Ádám

,

Judit Kolozsváriné Nagy

and

Lóránt Király

^*

Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, 15 Herman Ottó Str., H-1022 Budapest, Hungary

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Plants 2020, 9(12), 1705; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121705

Submission received: 30 October 2020 / Revised: 23 November 2020 / Accepted: 2 December 2020 / Published: 3 December 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms of Resistance to Plant Diseases)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

Sulfur (S) is an essential plant macronutrient and the pivotal role of sulfur compounds in plant disease resistance has become obvious in recent decades. This review attempts to recapitulate results on the various functions of sulfur-containing defense compounds (SDCs) in plant defense responses to pathogens. These compounds include sulfur containing amino acids such as cysteine and methionine, the tripeptide glutathione, thionins and defensins, glucosinolates and phytoalexins and, last but not least, reactive sulfur species and hydrogen sulfide. SDCs play versatile roles both in pathogen perception and initiating signal transduction pathways that are interconnected with various defense processes regulated by plant hormones (salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, ROS-mediated reversible oxidation of cysteine residues on plant proteins have profound effects on protein functions like signal transduction of plant defense responses during pathogen infections. Indeed, the multifaceted plant defense responses initiated by SDCs should provide novel tools for plant breeding to endow crops with efficient defense responses to invading pathogens.

Keywords: cysteine; defensin; glucosinolate; glutathione; hydrogen peroxide; hydrogen sulfide; reactive sulfur species; salicylic acid; sulfur-containing defense compounds; thionin

Graphical Abstract

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Künstler, A.; Gullner, G.; Ádám, A.L.; Kolozsváriné Nagy, J.; Király, L. The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance. Plants 2020, 9, 1705. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121705

AMA Style

Künstler A, Gullner G, Ádám AL, Kolozsváriné Nagy J, Király L. The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance. Plants. 2020; 9(12):1705. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121705

Chicago/Turabian Style

Künstler, András, Gábor Gullner, Attila L. Ádám, Judit Kolozsváriné Nagy, and Lóránt Király. 2020. "The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance" Plants 9, no. 12: 1705. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121705

APA Style

Künstler, A., Gullner, G., Ádám, A. L., Kolozsváriné Nagy, J., & Király, L. (2020). The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance. Plants, 9(12), 1705. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121705

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

The Versatile Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules in Plant Defense—A Road to Disease Resistance

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI