Soft Rot Pathogenicity in Plant Systems
Summary
Soft rot diseases in plants result from infection by a group of necrotrophic bacteria collectively known as soft rot Pectobacteriaceae. These pathogens secrete an array of plant cell wall–degrading enzymes, including pectinases and cellulases, that macerate host tissues and cause water-soaked lesions. Severity is influenced by pathogen virulence factors such as secretion systems, phytotoxins and regulatory networks that respond to environmental cues. Temperatures above 20 °C and high humidity favour bacterial proliferation, while host plants may perceive infection through hormone-mediated defence pathways. Interactions between pathogen and host are further modulated by cell-to-cell signalling molecules, horizontal gene transfer and the composition of the phyllosphere or rhizosphere microbiome. Globally, soft rot incurs significant losses in staple crops such as potato, carrot and cabbage, and threatens food security in both temperate and tropical regions. Advances in genomics, phenotyping and environmental biology have begun to elucidate the molecular basis of pathogenicity, host resistance mechanisms and opportunities for integrated disease management.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Soft Rot Pathogenicity in Plant Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in soft rot pathogenicity in plant systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Soft rot Pectobacteriaceae: A family of Gram-negative bacteria that cause maceration of plant tissues through secretion of pectin-degrading enzymes.
Plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs): Enzymes such as pectinases, cellulases and hemicellulases that break down plant cell wall polysaccharides.
Type VI secretion system (T6SS): A protein export apparatus in Gram-negative bacteria used to deliver effector molecules into host or competing cells.
Cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP): A bacterial second messenger that regulates biofilm formation, motility and expression of virulence factors.
Disease triangle: A concept describing how host susceptibility, pathogen virulence and environmental conditions interact to determine disease outcome.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification: Enzymatic alteration of the bacterial outer membrane component that can affect antibiotic resistance and host immune recognition.
References
- Characterization of the Arn lipopolysaccharide modification system essential for zeamine resistance unveils its new roles in Dickeya oryzae physiology and virulence. Molecular Plant Pathology (2023).
- Looking for Resistance to Soft Rot Disease of Potatoes Facing Environmental Hypoxia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2024).
- Insight into biodiversity of the recently rearranged genus Dickeya. Frontiers in Plant Science (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.