Control of Plant Pathogens for a Greener Future: Induced Systemic Resistance and Epigenetics

Dear Colleagues,

In the battle of crop protection, there is a constant need for the development of new disease management strategies, since pathogens are prone to developing resistance to fungicides, overcome plant resistance genes, and a few of them have structures, such as microsclerotia, inaccessible to fungicides. In addition, in recent decades, public opinion has urged the use of agricultural products with minimal fungicide residues. Therefore, there is a need for innovative green disease management strategies. In this direction, the exploitation of induced systemic resistance (ISR) and epigenetics may offer valuable tools in crop protection.

Induced systemic resistance offers long-lasting broad-spectrum plant protection against pathogens. Several microorganisms, chemical compounds, or organic amendments have been reported to trigger ISR, through a process known as priming. In parallel, the application of microorganisms, chemical compounds, or organic amendments to plants, except for enhancing the defense responses of the treated plants, may also result in disease-resistant offspring. The observed disease resistance has been attributed to epigenetic modifications via histone modifications and DNA methylation. Recent studies concluded that epigenetic modifications can significantly influence the expression of genes related to the plant immune responses. Therefore, the induction of plant defenses through chromatin modifications may result in the production of plant material with increased resistance against a range of plant pathogens, resulting in the reduced use of pesticides.

This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the use of microbes, chemical compounds, or organic amendments to trigger ISR and epigenetic modifications leading to plant protection, the underlying transcriptomic and metabolomic mechanisms, and the associations between ISR and epigenetics.

Dr. Sotiris Tjamos
Dr. Jane Debode
Guest Editors

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