Plant immune responses triggered by beneficial microbes
Saskia C M Van Wees1, Sjoerd Van der Ent, Corné M J Pieterse
1Plant-Microbe Interactions, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Beneficial soil-borne microorganisms, such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, can improve plant performance by inducing systemic defense responses that confer broad-spectrum resistance to plant pathogens and even insect herbivores. Different beneficial microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) are recognized by the plant, which results in a mild, but effective activation of the plant immune responses in systemic tissues. Evidence is accumulating that systemic resistance induced by different beneficials is regulated by similar jasmonate-dependent and ethylene-dependent signaling pathways and is associated with priming for enhanced defense.
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