The warfare for plant highway: vascular plant–microbe interaction pinpoints lignin

Abstract

Plant vascular pathogens are one kind of destructive pathogens in agricultural production. However, mechanisms behind the vascular pathogen-recognition and the subsequent defense responses of plants are not well known. A recent pioneering study on plant vascular immunity discovered a conserved MKP1-MPK-MYB signaling cascade that activates lignin biosynthesis in vascular tissues to confer vascular resistance in both monocot rice and the dicot Arabidopsis. The breakthrough provides a novel view on plant immunity to vascular pathogens and offers a potential strategy for the future breeding of disease-resistant crops.

Keywords

Phloem pathogens / Xylem pathogens / Vascular resistance / MAPK cascade / Lignin

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(31625023); National Natural Science Foundation of China(32072507); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(KYT202001); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(JCQY201904)