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Defence on demand: mechanisms behind optimal defence patterns.

Stefan Meldau¹, Matthias Erb, Ian T Baldwin

¹Department of Molecular Ecology, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. smeldau@ice.mpg.de

Annals of Botany

|October 2, 2012

Summary

Plants allocate defenses based on tissue importance and attack risk, a concept known as the optimal defense hypothesis (ODH). New research explores the molecular basis of these defense patterns, integrating plant development and defense mechanisms.

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Area of Science:

Plant Science
Ecology
Molecular Biology

Background:

The optimal defense hypothesis (ODH) posits that plant tissues crucial for fitness and prone to attack are best defended.
Younger tissues and reproductive parts generally exhibit higher basal and induced defenses against herbivores and pathogens.
The physiological mechanisms driving these developmentally regulated defense patterns are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To review current knowledge on optimal defense patterns in various plant tissues.
To explore the physiological regulations behind developmental differences in plant defense.
To investigate the roles of plant growth hormones and their interaction with jasmonic acid (JA) in defense.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on basal and induced defense metabolite accumulation and structures.
Analysis of the regulation of plant defenses by jasmonic acid (JA).
Focus on the interplay between classical plant growth hormones (auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, brassinosteroids) and the JA pathway.

Main Results:

Optimal defense patterns are observed across above- and below-ground plant tissues.
Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a key role in regulating plant defense responses.
Plant growth hormones exhibit dual roles in both development and defense, interacting with the JA pathway.

Conclusions:

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of ODH-predicted defense allocation is a recent development.
Integrating plant developmental processes with defense mechanisms is crucial for future research.