Plant Immune Mechanisms

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 1948

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Molecular Farming y Vacunas, Instituto Tecnológico Chascomús (INTECH), Universidad Nacional de General San Martín (UNSAM), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Chascomús 7130, Argentina
Interests: plant biotechnology; molecular Farming; plant immunity

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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Interacción planta-patógeno, Instituto Tecnológico Chascomús (INTECH), Universidad Nacional de General San Martín (UNSAM), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Chascomús 7130, Argentina
Interests: plant-microbe interaction; biological pest control

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Guest Editor
Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Suipacha 570, Rosario 2000, Argentina
Interests: plant molecular biology; biocontrol; agroecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants have different mechanisms that provide resistance to pathogen attack since they are capable of recognizing and distinguishing what is self from what is not self. This ability to discriminate self from non-self is a prerequisite for the activation of defense mechanisms after an attempted invasion of pathogens. Plants express pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize molecular patterns associated with pathogens or microorganisms (PAMPs or MAMPs, for Pathogen- or Microbial-Associated Molecular Patterns) and trigger immunity via PAMPs (PTI, PAMP-Triggered Immunity). MAMP is most commonly used in plants since not all microbes are pathogenic. This response is usually temporarily slow and of low amplitude. This defense is considered basal and does not prohibit colonization by the host nor limit the extent of its spread. A second line of defense mediated by resistance (R) proteins allows recognition of pathogen-specific molecules (avirulence proteins, Avr) and triggers effector-triggered immunity (ETI). In this sense, the action of the R proteins would allow for accelerating and eliciting the basal innate defense response. In addition, the immune response to endogenous signals originating from damaged or stressed cells is emerging as a crucial role of the immune system. Endogenous molecules, eliciting activity released from cellular components during pathogen attack or abiotic stress, have been defined as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). To be efficient, these signals should be pre-triggered or inducible. Any molecule found exclusively inside cells could serve as a pre-made alarm signal. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight recent advances in the understanding of mechanisms of plant defense response by elucidating immune activation mechanisms and by illustrating plant molecular and physiological mechanism functioning. Multidisciplinary approaches able to describe the function and regulation of the plant immune system are welcome. Researchers can contribute original research findings and review and perspective articles to this issue.

Dr. Marina Clemente
Dr. Fernando Luis Pieckenstain
Dr. Sebastian Pablo Rius
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • disease resistance
  • transcriptional reprogramming
  • protein induction
  • immune receptor
  • molecular pattern
  • pattern recognition receptor
  • pattern-triggered immunity
  • phytocytokine
  • plant innate immunity
  • plant–microbe interactions

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5920 KiB  
Article
Rootstock Selection for Resisting Cucumber Fusarium Wilt in Hainan and Corresponding Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis
by Lingyu Wang, Qiuxia Yi, Panpan Yu, Sunjeet Kumar, Xuyang Zhang, Chenxi Wu, Zhenglong Weng, Mengyu Xing, Kaisen Huo, Yanli Chen and Guopeng Zhu
Plants 2025, 14(3), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14030359 - 24 Jan 2025
Viewed by 533
Abstract
Soilborne diseases are important problems in modern agricultural production. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC) is one of the predominant soilborne pathogens threatening cucumber cultivation, especially in Hainan, China. This study assessed FOC-resistant rootstocks using incidence rate, disease severity index (DSI), and area [...] Read more.
Soilborne diseases are important problems in modern agricultural production. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC) is one of the predominant soilborne pathogens threatening cucumber cultivation, especially in Hainan, China. This study assessed FOC-resistant rootstocks using incidence rate, disease severity index (DSI), and area under the disease severity index curve (AUDRC), revealing “JinJiaZhen (Mc-4)” as resistant and “JinGangZhuan 1901 (Mc-18)” as susceptible. Comprehensive transcriptome and metabolome analyses were conducted to investigate the defense mechanisms of these rootstocks, revealing key pathways, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, starch and sucrose metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, which are crucial for plant disease resistance. Additionally, the study compared the resistance mechanisms of two other rootstocks, Mc-4 and Mc-18, against FOC infection through transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. Mc-4 exhibited a higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis compared to Mc-18. Untargeted metabolomics identified 4093 metabolites, with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis, and porphyrin metabolism as primary annotated pathways. On the sixth day post-inoculation, when the number of DEGs and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) was highest, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis emerged as a key pathway in Mc-4, with 37 DEGs and 8 DAMs identified. Notably, Mc-4 showed upregulated expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and increased accumulation of related metabolites, such as coniferyl-aldehyde, coniferyl alcohol, and coniferyl acetate. These findings highlight the differential defense mechanisms between resistant and sensitive rootstocks and provide insights into plant–pathogen interactions. This study’s results will contribute to the development of better and disease-free cucumber varieties, promoting sustainable agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Immune Mechanisms)
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14 pages, 2296 KiB  
Article
G-Quadruplex Structures as Epigenetic Regulatory Elements in Priming of Defense Genes upon Short-Term Trichoderma atroviride Inoculation in Maize
by Romina B. Agostini, Ernesto J. Piga, Candela Bayón, Andrés Binolfi, Pablo Armas, Valeria A. Campos-Bermudez and Sebastián P. Rius
Plants 2024, 13(20), 2925; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13202925 - 18 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Symbiosis establishment between Trichoderma atroviride and plant roots triggers the priming of defense responses, among other effects. Currently, there is no clear evidence regarding the molecular mechanisms that allow the plant to remain alert to future stimulus, either by pathogen attack or any [...] Read more.
Symbiosis establishment between Trichoderma atroviride and plant roots triggers the priming of defense responses, among other effects. Currently, there is no clear evidence regarding the molecular mechanisms that allow the plant to remain alert to future stimulus, either by pathogen attack or any other abiotic stress. Epigenetic modifications have emerged as a strategy to explain the increased defense response of plants in a priming state conferred by Trichoderma. Recently, various non-canonical structures of nucleic acids, especially G-quadruplex structures (G-quadruplexes or G4s), have been identified as potential targets during the establishment or maintenance of plant signals. In the present study, we developed a screening test for the identification of putative G4-forming sequences (PQSs) in previously identified Z. mays priming genes. Bioinformatic analysis revealed the presence of PQSs in the promoter region of five essential genes playing a critical role in priming in maize. Biophysical and spectroscopy studies showed the formation of G4s by these PQSs in vitro, and ChIP assays demonstrate their formation in vivo. Therefore, G4 formation could play a role as an epigenetic regulatory mechanism involved in the long-lasting primed state in maize plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Immune Mechanisms)
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