Ethylene and Jasmonate Signaling in Plant Disease Resistance
Summary
Plants deploy a finely tuned network of hormonal signals to fend off pathogens, with ethylene and jasmonate acting as central mediators of defence against necrotrophic fungi and certain bacteria. Ethylene is synthesised from S-adenosylmethionine via 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, while jasmonate originates in chloroplast membranes through the octadecanoid pathway. Upon pathogen challenge, perception of ethylene by membrane-bound receptors releases transcriptional regulators (such as EIN2 and EIN3), and jasmonate perception by the SCFCOI1–JAZ complex liberates MYC transcription factors. Both pathways converge on a suite of downstream effectors—ethylene response factors (ERFs), pathogenesis-related proteins and antimicrobial metabolites—that reinforce cell walls, generate reactive oxygen species and suppress pathogen growth. Crucially, ethylene and jasmonate often act in concert, co-activating defence gene clusters via shared promoter motifs, yet their interplay is modulated by antagonistic signals from salicylic acid to ensure context-appropriate immunity. Recent advances have illuminated how dynamic crosstalk between these hormones balances growth and defence, offering routes to breed crop varieties with durable resistance and minimal yield penalties.
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Ethylene and Jasmonate Signaling in Plant Disease Resistance publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in ethylene and jasmonate signaling in plant disease resistance across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Ethylene: A gaseous plant hormone synthesised via the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid pathway; it regulates defence against necrotrophs by activating specific transcriptional programmes.
Jasmonate: A lipid-derived hormone produced through the octadecanoid pathway; it modulates defence gene expression and often acts synergistically with ethylene.
Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI): The basal defence response initiated by recognition of conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns through cell-surface receptors.
Effector-triggered immunity (ETI): A robust defence activated by intracellular detection of pathogen effectors via nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors.
Ethylene response factor (ERF): A subfamily of AP2/ERF transcription factors that bind GCC-box promoter elements to regulate ethylene- and jasmonate-responsive defence genes.
Co-expression module: A cluster of genes showing coordinated expression patterns, often reflecting shared regulation by hormones or stress signals.
References
- PTI‐ETI synergistic signal mechanisms in plant immunity. Plant Biotechnology Journal (2024).
- Genetic Analysis of Partially Resistant and Susceptible Chickpea Cultivars in Response to Ascochyta rabiei Infection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2024).
- Integrated Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Plant Hormones Jasmonic Acid and Salicylic Acid Coordinate Growth and Defense Responses upon Fungal Infection in Poplar. Biomolecules (2019).
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