Functions of the respiratory burst oxidase in biotic interactions, abiotic stress and development

The production of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) is among the earliest temporal events following pathogen recognition in plants. Initially, ROI were thought to be cell-death executioners. Emerging evidence, however, suggests a broader role for ROI as signals that mediate responses to infection, the abiotic environment, developmental cues, and programmed cell death in different cell types. The Respiratory burst oxidase homolog (Rboh) gene family encodes the key enzymatic subunit of the plant NADPH oxidase. Rboh proteins are the source of ROI produced following pathogen recognition and in a variety of other processes.