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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2024 | Viewed by 7130

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Dr. Vladimir Zhurov

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Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Interests: plant-pest interactions; transcriptome; metabolome; evolution; two-spotted spider mite
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Dear Colleagues,

Interactions between plants and organisms that attack them is an ever-evolving subject of study that continues to pique the interest of a growing number of scientists with diverse research backgrounds. The evolution of plant defense responses is tightly interlinked with the evolution of attackers. A successful plant defense response relies on the early detection of an intruder, the quick activation of immediate defenses, and the establishment of long-term resistance to biotic stress. A successful attack, in turn, relies on evading, overcoming, or suppressing these mechanisms.

This Special Issue, entitled “Plant Response to Insects and Microbes”, is open to all researchers studying these interactions at any level or time scale from either the plant or biotic stressor side. Original research articles and review papers dealing with the advancement and current understanding of diverse aspects of plant interactions with biotic stressors are welcome.

Dr. Vladimir Zhurov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

plants
defense response
arthropods
bacteria
fungi
viruses
biotic stress

Related Special Issue

Plant Response to Insects and Microbes in International Journal of Molecular Sciences (11 articles)

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 29000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Odorant Receptors Expressing and Antennal Lobes Architecture Are Linked to Caste Dimorphism in Asian Honeybee, Apis cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

by Haoqin Ke, Yu Chen, Baoyi Zhang, Shiwen Duan, Xiaomei Ma, Bingzhong Ren and Yinliang Wang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(7), 3934; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073934 - 01 Apr 2024

Viewed by 434

Abstract

Insects heavily rely on the olfactory system for food, mating, and predator evasion. However, the caste-related olfactory differences in Apis cerana, a eusocial insect, remain unclear. To explore the peripheral and primary center of the olfactory system link to the caste dimorphism in A. cerana, transcriptome and immunohistochemistry studies on the odorant receptors (ORs) and architecture of antennal lobes (ALs) were performed on different castes. Through transcriptomesis, we found more olfactory receptor genes in queens and workers than in drones, which were further validated by RT-qPCR, indicating caste dimorphism. Meanwhile, ALs structure, including volume, surface area, and the number of glomeruli, demonstrated a close association with caste dimorphism. Particularly, drones had more macroglomeruli possibly for pheromone recognition. Interestingly, we found that the number of ORs and glomeruli ratio was nearly 1:1. Also, the ORs expression distribution pattern was very similar to the distribution of glomeruli volume. Our results suggest the existence of concurrent plasticity in both the peripheral olfactory system and ALs among different castes of A. cerana, highlighting the role of the olfactory system in labor division in insects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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14 pages, 4400 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wheat Transcriptional Corepressor TaTPR1 Suppresses Susceptibility Genes TaDND1/2 and Potentiates Post-Penetration Resistance against Blumeria graminis forma specialis tritici

by Pengfei Zhi, Rongxin Gao, Wanzhen Chen and Cheng Chang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(3), 1695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031695 - 30 Jan 2024

Viewed by 485

Abstract

The obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis forma specialis tritici (B.g. tritici) is the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew disease. The TOPLESS-related 1 (TPR1) corepressor regulates plant immunity, but its role in regulating wheat resistance against powdery mildew remains to be disclosed. Herein, TaTPR1 was identified as a positive regulator of wheat post-penetration resistance against powdery mildew disease. The transient overexpression of TaTPR1.1 or TaTPR1.2 confers wheat post-penetration resistance powdery mildew, while the silencing of TaTPR1.1 and TaTPR1.2 results in an enhanced wheat susceptibility to B.g. tritici. Furthermore, Defense no Death 1 (TaDND1) and Defense no Death 2 (TaDND2) were identified as wheat susceptibility (S) genes facilitating a B.g. tritici infection. The overexpression of TaDND1 and TaDND2 leads to an enhanced wheat susceptibility to B.g. tritici, while the silencing of wheat TaDND1 and TaDND2 leads to a compromised susceptibility to powdery mildew. In addition, we demonstrated that the expression of TaDND1 and TaDND2 is negatively regulated by the wheat transcriptional corepressor TaTPR1. Collectively, these results implicate that TaTPR1 positively regulates wheat post-penetration resistance against powdery mildew probably via suppressing the S genes TaDND1 and TaDND2. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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12 pages, 12790 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plant Responses of Maize to Two formae speciales of Sporisorium reilianum Support Recent Fungal Host Jump

by Lukas Dorian Dittiger, Shivam Chaudhary, Alexandra Charlotte Ursula Furch, Axel Mithöfer and Jan Schirawski

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(21), 15604; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242115604 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 744

Abstract

Host jumps are a major factor for the emergence of new fungal pathogens. In the evolution of smut fungi, a putative host jump occurred in Sporisorium reilianum that today exists in two host-adapted formae speciales, the sorghum-pathogenic S. reilianum f. sp. reilianum and maize-pathogenic S. reilianum f. sp. zeae. To understand the molecular host-specific adaptation to maize, we compared the transcriptomes of maize leaves colonized by both formae speciales. We found that both varieties induce many common defense response-associated genes, indicating that both are recognized by the plant as pathogens. S. reilianum f. sp. reilianum additionally induced genes involved in systemic acquired resistance. In contrast, only S. reilianum f. sp. zeae induced expression of chorismate mutases that function in reducing the level of precursors for generation of the defense compound salicylic acid (SA), as well as oxylipin biosynthesis enzymes necessary for generation of the SA antagonist jasmonic acid (JA). In accordance, we found reduced SA levels as well as elevated JA and JA-Ile levels in maize leaves inoculated with the maize-adapted variety. These findings support a model of the emergence of the maize-pathogenic variety from a sorghum-specific ancestor following a recent host jump. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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15 pages, 4322 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Reconfiguration of Switchgrass Proteomes in Response to Rust (Puccinia novopanici) Infection

by Nathan A. Palmer, Sophie Alvarez, Michael J. Naldrett, Anthony Muhle, Gautam Sarath, Serge J. Edmé, Satyanarayana Tatineni, Robert B. Mitchell and Gary Yuen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14630; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914630 - 27 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 787

Abstract

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) can be infected by the rust pathogen (Puccinia novopanici) and results in lowering biomass yields and quality. Label-free quantitative proteomics was conducted on leaf extracts harvested from non-infected and infected plants from a susceptible cultivar (Summer) at 7, 11, and 18 days after inoculation (DAI) to follow the progression of disease and evaluate any plant compensatory mechanisms to infection. Some pustules were evident at 7 DAI, and their numbers increased with time. However, fungal DNA loads did not appreciably change over the course of this experiment in the infected plants. In total, 3830 proteins were identified at 1% false discovery rate, with 3632 mapped to the switchgrass proteome and 198 proteins mapped to different Puccinia proteomes. Across all comparisons, 1825 differentially accumulated switchgrass proteins were identified and subjected to a STRING analysis using Arabidopsis (A. thaliana L.) orthologs to deduce switchgrass cellular pathways impacted by rust infection. Proteins associated with plastid functions and primary metabolism were diminished in infected Summer plants at all harvest dates, whereas proteins associated with immunity, chaperone functions, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were significantly enriched. At 18 DAI, 1105 and 151 proteins were significantly enriched or diminished, respectively. Many of the enriched proteins were associated with mitigation of cellular stress and defense. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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16 pages, 1305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Regulatory Mechanism of the Sesquiterpenol Nerolidol from a Plant on Juvenile Hormone-Related Genes in the Insect Spodoptera exigua

by Hanyang Dai, Baosheng Liu, Lei Yang, Yu Yao, Mengyun Liu, Wenqing Xiao, Shuai Li, Rui Ji and Yang Sun

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13330; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713330 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 985

Abstract

Various plant species contain terpene secondary metabolites, which disrupt insect growth and development by affecting the activity of juvenile hormone-degrading enzymes, and the juvenile hormone (JH) titers maintained in insects. Nerolidol, a natural sesquiterpenol belonging to the terpenoid group, exhibits structural similarities to insect JHs. However, the impact of nerolidol on insect growth and development, as well as its underlying molecular mechanism, remains unclear. Here, the effects of nerolidol on Spodoptera exigua were investigated under treatment at various sub-lethal doses (4.0 mg/mL, 1.0 mg/mL, 0.25 mg/mL). We found that a higher dose (4.0 mg/mL) of nerolidol significantly impaired the normal growth, development, and population reproduction of S. exigua, although a relatively lower dose (0.25 mg/mL) of nerolidol had no significant effect on this growth and development. Combined transcriptome sequencing and gene family analysis further revealed that four juvenile hormone esterase (JHE)-family genes that are involved in juvenile hormone degradation were significantly altered in S. exigua larvae after nerolidol treatment (4.0 mg/mL). Interestingly, the juvenile hormone esterase-like (JHEL) gene Sexi006721, a critical element responsive to nerolidol stress, was closely linked with the significant augmentation of JHE activity and JH titer in S. exigua (R² = 0.94, p < 0.01). Taken together, we speculate that nerolidol can function as an analog of JH by modulating the expression of the enzyme genes responsible for degrading JH, resulting in JH disorders and ultimately disrupting the development of insect larvae. This study ultimately provides a theoretical basis for the sustainable control of S. exigua in the field whilst proposing a new perspective for the development of novel biological pesticides. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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15 pages, 1603 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tomato Aphid (Aphis gossypii) Secreted Saliva Can Enhance Aphid Resistance by Upregulating Signaling Molecules in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

by Khadija Javed, Yong Wang, Humayun Javed, Chen Wang, Chuang Liu and Yuqian Huang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(16), 12768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612768 - 14 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1127

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of Aphis gossypii watery saliva on the induction of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plant resistance. To examine the role of A. gossypii saliva, we collected watery saliva from A. gossypii after a 48 h feeding period on an artificial diet. SDS-PAGE resolving gel 12% was used to separate the salivary proteins. Relative expression of gene analysis revealed that the intrusion of A. gossypii saliva dripping onto S. lycopersicum leaves triggered robust defense responses mediated by a signaling molecule, i.e., salicylic acid, while the signaling molecule’s jasmonic acid-dependent defense responses were moderately activated. Aphid saliva infiltrated S. lycopersicum leaves slowed the intrinsic rate of population growth of A. gossypii and significantly reduced the number of nymphs produced daily, compared to untreated leaves. During a choice test with untreated S. lycopersicum, aphids showed a repellent response towards saliva-infiltrated S. lycopersicum. Moreover, the (EPG) electrical penetration graph analysis demonstrated that the eating pattern of A. gossypii compared to untreated S. lycopersicum, that had been exposed to saliva was negatively impacted. These results provide compelling evidence for the involvement of salivary components of A. gossypii in inducing resistance against aphids in S. lycopersicum plants. Furthermore, the study underscores the crucial role of watery saliva in the intricate interactions between aphids and plants. The activation of pathways was also part of the defensive response (jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) signaling molecules). The findings of this research deliver valuable insights into the potential of watery aphid saliva as a natural defense mechanism against aphid infestations in S. lycopersicum crops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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Review

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18 pages, 566 KiB

Open AccessReview

Signaling and Resistosome Formation in Plant Innate Immunity to Viruses: Is There a Common Mechanism of Antiviral Resistance Conserved across Kingdoms?

by Peter A. Ivanov, Tatiana V. Gasanova, Maria N. Repina and Andrey A. Zamyatnin, Jr.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13625; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713625 - 03 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1780

Abstract

Virus-specific proteins, including coat proteins, movement proteins, replication proteins, and suppressors of RNA interference are capable of triggering the hypersensitive response (HR), which is a type of cell death in plants. The main cell death signaling pathway involves direct interaction of HR-inducing proteins with nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeats (NLR) proteins encoded by plant resistance genes. Singleton NLR proteins act as both sensor and helper. In other cases, NLR proteins form an activation network leading to their oligomerization and formation of membrane-associated resistosomes, similar to metazoan inflammasomes and apoptosomes. In resistosomes, coiled-coil domains of NLR proteins form Ca²⁺ channels, while toll-like/interleukin-1 receptor-type (TIR) domains form oligomers that display NAD+ glycohydrolase (NADase) activity. This review is intended to highlight the current knowledge on plant innate antiviral defense signaling pathways in an attempt to define common features of antiviral resistance across the kingdoms of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Insects and Microbes 2.0)

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