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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

A Hydroponic Co-cultivation System for Simultaneous and Systematic Analysis of Plant/Microbe Molecular Interactions and Signaling
Published on: July 22, 2017
Plants and biotrophs: a pivotal role for cytokinins?
Dale R Walters1, Neil McRoberts
1Crop & Soil Systems Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK. dale.walters@sac.ac.uk
Abstract:
Plants infected with biotrophic fungal pathogens exhibit reduced photosynthetic rates, nutrient mobilization towards infection sites and, in interactions where discrete pustules are formed, green islands are induced. The ability of cytokinins to mobilize nutrients towards sites of application and to delay senescence led researchers to speculate that cytokinins might be involved in nutrient mobilization and green island formation in plants infected with biotrophic fungi. There is evidence that the reduction in photosynthesis in infected leaves results from early increases in invertase activity, leading to carbohydrate accumulation and the downregulation of photosynthetic metabolism. In this Opinion article, we propose that these seemingly disparate changes in host physiology in infected plants are the result of cytokinin-induced increases in invertase activity occurring early on in the host-pathogen interaction.
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