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Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions

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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: closed (10 November 2024) | Viewed by 14130

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Prof. Dr. Young-sang Ahn

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Guest Editor

Department of Forest Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
Interests: plant diseases; insect pests; plant–microbial interactions; plant defense mechanisms; biological control; plant growth promotion
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are the primary producers and thus the main source of nutrients for other organisms including fungi, bacteria, and animals. Some organisms have developed mutualistic relationships with plants, while others are destructive. Plants have evolved numerous signaling pathways to detect and respond to fungal, bacterial, and viral infections, herbivorous attacks, and abiotic stress through the biosynthesis of structural and physiological protein-based defense mechanisms. This Special Issue will accept articles reporting on inducible plant defense responses including chemical defense systems, such as microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), hypersensitive responses, pathogen-degrading enzymes, pathogenic-related (PR) proteins (like defensins, chitinases, β-1,3-glucanases, thaumatin-like, proteases, peroxidase, salicylate, and jasmonate) and toxic chemicals (such as terpenes, phenolics, and histamines), and mechanisms by which pathogens overcome plant resistance. The Special Issue will also consider studies reporting mechanisms of mutualistic plant–microbial interactions, microbial-induced plant defense, and microbial chemicals used in biological control, stress tolerance, and plant growth stimulation.

Prof. Dr. Young-sang Ahn
Guest Editor

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Keywords

plant pathogenic infections
insect pest damage
abiotic stress
plant/microbial chemical signaling
innate immunity
systemic acquired resistance (SAR)
pathogen-related proteins
plant defense enzymes
plant growth hormones

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2842 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Paraburkholderia tropica Primes a Multilayered Transcriptional Defense Response to the Nematode Meloidogyne spp. in Tomato

by Carolina González-Cardona, Walter Ricardo López, Juan Jovel, Mauricio Soto-Suárez and Nelson Ceballos-Aguirre

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(23), 12584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312584 (registering DOI) - 23 Nov 2024

Viewed by 389

Abstract

Meloidogyne causes a devastating disease known as root-knot that affects tomatoes and other cash crops worldwide. Conversely, Paraburkholderia tropica has proven beneficial in mitigating the effects of various pathogens in plants. We aimed to unravel the molecular events that underlie the beneficial effects of the bacterium and the detrimental impacts of the nematode when inoculated separately or together in tomato plants. The transcriptional responses induced by P. tropica (TB group (tomato-bacteria group)), Meloidogyne spp. (TN group (tomato-nematode group)) or by the two agents (TBN group (tomato-bacteria-nematode group)) in tomato were assessed by RNA-seq. We implemented a transcript discovery pipeline which allowed the identification of 2283 putative novel transcripts. Differential expression analysis revealed that upregulated transcripts were much more numerous than downregulated ones. At the gene ontology level, the most activated term was ‘hydrolase activity acting on ester bonds’ in all groups. In addition, when both microbes were inoculated together, ‘hydrolase activity acting on O-glycosyl compounds’ was activated. This finding suggests defense responses related to lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, membrane remodeling and signal transduction. Notably, defense genes, transcription factors and protein kinases stood out. Differentially expressed transcripts suggest the activation of a multifaceted plant defense response against the nematode occurred, which was exacerbated by pre-inoculation of P. tropica. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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14 pages, 7163 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Talha Javed, Wenzhi Wang, Tingting Sun, Linbo Shen, Xiaoyan Feng, Jiayan Huang and Shuzhen Zhang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6463; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126463 - 12 Jun 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1003

Abstract

Plant resistance against biotic stressors is significantly influenced by pathogenesis-related 1 (PR1) proteins. This study examines the systematic identification and characterization of PR1 family genes in sugarcane (Saccharum spontaneum Np-X) and the transcript expression of selected genes in two sugarcane cultivars (ROC22 and Zhongtang3) in response to Ustilago scitaminea pathogen infection. A total of 18 SsnpPR1 genes were identified at the whole-genome level and further categorized into four groups. Notably, tandem and segmental duplication occurrences were detected in one and five SsnpPR1 gene pairs, respectively. The SsnpPR1 genes exhibited diverse physio-chemical attributes and variations in introns/exons and conserved motifs. Notably, four SsnpPR1 (SsnpPR1.02/05/09/19) proteins displayed a strong protein–protein interaction network. The transcript expression of three SsnpPR1 (SsnpPR1.04/06/09) genes was upregulated by 1.2–2.6 folds in the resistant cultivar (Zhongtang3) but downregulated in the susceptible cultivar (ROC22) across different time points as compared to the control in response to pathogen infection. Additionally, SsnpPR1.11 was specifically upregulated by 1.2–3.5 folds at 24–72 h post inoculation (hpi) in ROC22, suggesting that this gene may play an important negative regulatory role in defense responses to pathogen infection. The genetic improvement of sugarcane can be facilitated by our results, which also establish the basis for additional functional characterization of SsnpPR1 genes in response to pathogenic stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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15 pages, 16155 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AK-12 Helps Rapeseed Establish a Protection against Brevicoryne brassicae

by Shixiong Qian, Ayesha Ahmed, Pengbo He, Pengfei He, Shahzad Munir, Mengyuan Xia, Chaoyun Tang, Ping Tang, Zaiqiang Wang, Rizwan Khan, Xingyu Li, Yixin Wu and Yueqiu He

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(21), 15893; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242115893 - 2 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1348

Abstract

Aphids are a serious threat to rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) production, and cause unmanageable loss. Therefore, effective prevention and management strategies are urgently required to avoid losses. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AK-12 isolated from a dead aphid with aphicidal activity was tagged with a green fluorescent protein through a natural transformation. The transformed strains were checked for stability and growth, and the best-performing strain was tested for its colonization inside and outside the rapeseed plant. The stability of AK-12-GFP reached more than 95%, and the growth curve was consistent with that of AK-12. After 30 days of treatment, the colonization of 1 × 10⁶ CFU/g was recorded in rapeseed leaves. Interestingly, AK-12 reduced the aphid transmission rate compared with the control and improved the growth of the rapeseed seedlings. Meanwhile, the AK-12 strain also exhibited phosphorus, potassium-solubilizing, and nitrogen-fixing activity, and produced 2.61 µg/mL of IAA at 24 h. Regulation in the activity of four enzymes was detected after the AK-12 treatment. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) was recorded at a maximum of 86.84 U/g after 36 h, and catalase (CAT) decreased after 48 h; however, peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) reached the maximum within 12 h of AK-12 application. Additionally, important resistance genes related to these enzymes were upregulated, indicating the activation of a defense response in the rapeseed against aphids. In conclusion, defense enzymes and defense-related gene activation could improve the pest resistance in rapeseed, which has good application prospects for the future to be developed into biopesticide. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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11 pages, 1354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Entomopathogenic Potential of Bacillus velezensis CE 100 for the Biological Control of Termite Damage in Wooden Architectural Buildings of Korean Cultural Heritage

by Jae-Hyun Moon, Henry B. Ajuna, Sang-Jae Won, Vantha Choub, Su-In Choi, Ju-Yeol Yun, Won Joung Hwang, Sang Wook Park and Young Sang Ahn

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(9), 8189; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24098189 - 3 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2079

Abstract

Biocontrol strategies are gaining tremendous attention in insect pest management, such as controlling termite damage, due to the growing awareness of the irreparable harm caused by the continuous use of synthetic pesticides. This study examines the proteolytic and chitinolytic activities of Bacillus velezensis CE 100 and its termiticidal effect through cuticle degradation. The proteolytic and chitinolytic activities of B. velezensis CE 100 systematically increased with cell growth to the respective peaks of 68.3 and 128.3 units/mL after seven days of inoculation, corresponding with the highest cell growth of 16 × 10⁷ colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. The in vitro termiticidal assay showed that B. velezensis CE 100 caused a rapid and high rate of termite mortality, with a median lethal time (LT50) of >1 h and the highest mortality rates of 91.1% and 92.2% recorded at 11 h and 12 h in the bacterial broth culture and crude enzyme fraction, respectively. In addition to broken setae and deformed sockets, termites treated with the bacterial broth culture exhibited degraded epicuticles, while the crude enzyme fraction caused severe disintegration of both the epicuticle and endocuticle. These results indicate the tremendously higher potential of B. velezensis CE 100 in the biological control of subterranean termites compared to the previously used entomopathogenic bacteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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20 pages, 3851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Phaseolus vulgaris Receptor-Like Kinase PvFER1 and the Small Peptides PvRALF1 and PvRALF6 Regulate Nodule Number as a Function of Nitrate Availability

by Jorge Solís-Miranda, Marco A. Juárez-Verdayes, Noreide Nava, Paul Rosas, Alfonso Leija-Salas, Luis Cárdenas and Carmen Quinto

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5230; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065230 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2420

Abstract

Legumes associate with Gram-negative soil bacteria called rhizobia, resulting in the formation of a nitrogen-fixing organ, the nodule. Nodules are an important sink for photosynthates for legumes, so these plants have developed a systemic regulation mechanism that controls their optimal number of nodules, the so-called autoregulation of nodulation (AON) pathway, to balance energy costs with the benefits of nitrogen fixation. In addition, soil nitrate inhibits nodulation in a dose-dependent manner, through systemic and local mechanisms. The CLE family of peptides and their receptors are key to tightly controlling these inhibitory responses. In the present study, a functional analysis revealed that PvFER1, PvRALF1, and PvRALF6 act as positive regulators of the nodule number in growth medium containing 0 mM of nitrate but as negative regulators in medium with 2 and 5 mM of nitrate. Furthermore, the effect on nodule number was found to be consistent with changes in the expression levels of genes associated with the AON pathway and with the nitrate-mediated regulation of nodulation (NRN). Collectively, these data suggest that PvFER1, PvRALF1, and PvRALF6 regulate the optimal number of nodules as a function of nitrate availability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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Review

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16 pages, 1128 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances in the Biosynthesis of Terpenoids and Their Ecological Functions in Plant Resistance

by Changyan Li, Wenjun Zha, Wei Li, Jianyu Wang and Aiqing You

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(14), 11561; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241411561 - 17 Jul 2023

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5897

Abstract

Secondary metabolism plays an important role in the adaptation of plants to their environments, particularly by mediating bio-interactions and protecting plants from herbivores, insects, and pathogens. Terpenoids form the largest group of plant secondary metabolites, and their biosynthesis and regulation are extremely complicated. Terpenoids are key players in the interactions and defense reactions between plants, microorganisms, and animals. Terpene compounds are of great significance both to plants themselves and the ecological environment. On the one hand, while protecting plants themselves, they can also have an impact on the environment, thereby affecting the evolution of plant communities and even ecosystems. On the other hand, their economic value is gradually becoming clear in various aspects of human life; their potential is enormous, and they have broad application prospects. Therefore, research on terpenoids is crucial for plants, especially crops. This review paper is mainly focused on the following six aspects: plant terpenes (especially terpene volatiles and plant defense); their ecological functions; their biosynthesis and transport; related synthesis genes and their regulation; terpene homologues; and research and application prospects. We will provide readers with a systematic introduction to terpenoids covering the above aspects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Defense Response to Microbial, Herbivorous, and Environmental Interactions)

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