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Updated: Jan 25, 2026
08:17
VIGS-Mediated Forward Genetics Screening for Identification of Genes Involved in Nonhost Resistance
Published on: August 23, 2013
17.6K
Plant nonhost resistance: paradigms and new environments
Michael Ayliffe1, Chris K Sørensen2
1CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Box 1700, Clunies Ross Street, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
|May 11, 2019
Summary
Plants possess innate immunity called nonhost resistance (NHR) against most pathogens, often due to molecular incompatibility. Climate change may disrupt this natural plant defense, leading to new plant-pathogen interactions.
Area of Science:
- Plant pathology
- Plant immunity
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Nonhost resistance (NHR) provides broad-spectrum immunity to plants against a vast majority of potential phytopathogens.
- This innate immunity relies on physical, chemical, and inducible defenses that prevent pathogen colonization.
- Emerging evidence highlights molecular incompatibility between pathogen virulence factors and plant targets as a key NHR mechanism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of nonhost resistance (NHR) in plants.
- To explore the molecular basis of NHR and its durability.
- To discuss the potential impact of environmental changes, particularly climate change, on NHR and plant-pathogen interactions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing research on nonhost resistance.
- Analysis of molecular mechanisms underlying plant-pathogen interactions in nonhost scenarios.
- Synthesis of data on environmental influences on plant and pathogen distribution.
Main Results:
- NHR is frequently mediated by molecular incompatibilities, preventing pathogen virulence factor function.
- While generally durable, NHR is not absolute and can be overcome under certain conditions.
- Climate change is predicted to alter plant and pathogen distributions, potentially creating new host-pathogen relationships.
Conclusions:
- Nonhost resistance is a crucial plant defense mechanism based on molecular incompatibility.
- Environmental shifts, especially climate change, pose a significant threat to NHR by altering ecological interactions.
- Understanding NHR is vital for predicting and managing future plant diseases in a changing climate.
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