Natural elicitors, effectors and modulators of plant responses

Abstract

In plants, successful defense relies on fast and specific response to biotic attack. In plant-microbial and plant-plant interactions several elicitors, effectors and modulators are recognized by specific and unspecific receptors that trigger signal cascades eventually leading to gene expression and plant responses. Here we review the chemical nature and signaling pathways of natural products released by microorganisms, herbivores, and plants during pathogenic infections, herbivory, symbioses and allelopathic interactions.

The novel elicitor AsES triggers a defense response against Botrytis cinerea in Arabidopsis thaliana

“…MAMPs such as polypeptides, glycoproteins, lipids, glycolipids, and oligosaccharides, as well as DAMPs released by microbial hydrolytic enzymes from plant components, such as cell-wall fragments, have been characterized and are known to trigger defense responses that require the activation of SA-, JA-, and ET-induced signaling pathways [18][19][20]. The novel elicitor AsES (Patent EPC N • 12.720.221.6-1410) is a member of subtilisinrelated alkaline proteases and its proteolytic activity is necessary to induce systemic defense responses in strawberry plants against Colletotrichum acutatum, a hemibiotrophic pathogen that is the causal agent of anthracnose disease in strawberry [21].…”

Plant responses to multiple herbivory : phenotypic changes and their ecological consequences

“…The past decade has brought significant advances in the mechanistic understanding at the (sub)cellular level of induced plant responses that underlie plant-insect interactions Felton and Tumlinson, 2008;Maffei et al, 2012;Maffei et al, 2007;Mithöfer and Boland, 2012;Reymond, 2013;Wu and Baldwin, 2010). This relates to the recognition of attackers and the induction of signal transduction pathways, which is followed by transcriptomic changes and the induction of biosynthetic pathways leading to changes in plant phenotype.…”

“…The chemical nature of the active compounds is remarkably diverse and includes small organic compounds such as benzyl cyanide, fatty acid-amino acid conjugates, and proteins such as β-glucosidase (Maffei et al, 2012). The initial step in the elicitation process occurs with considerable specificity for the plant-insect combination studied.…”

Unraveling molecular mechanisms underlying plant defense in response to dual insect attack : studying density-dependent effects

“…function to suppress the elicitor-triggered plant defense response, such as glucose oxidase in the interaction between Helicoverpa zea caterpillars and tobacco (Felton and Tumlinson, 2008;Maffei et al, 2012). Studies elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underpinning plant defense responses to insect herbivore attack have identified the central role of phytohormones.…”

“…The past decade has brought significant advances in the mechanistic understanding at the (sub)cellular level of induced plant responses that underlie plant-insect interactions (Bonaventure et al, 2011;Felton and Tumlinson, 2008;Maffei et al, 2012;Maffei et al, 2007;Mithöfer and Boland, 2012;Reymond, 2013;Wu and Baldwin, 2010). This relates to the recognition of attackers and the induction of signal transduction pathways, which is followed by transcriptomic changes and the induction of biosynthetic pathways leading to changes in plant phenotype.…”