Salicylic acid-independent plant defence pathways.
Salicylic acid is an important signalling molecule involved in both locally and systemically induced disease resistance responses. Recent advances in our understanding of plant defence signalling have revealed that plants employ a network of signal transduction pathways, some of which are independent of salicylic acid. Evidence is emerging that jasmonic acid and ethylene play key roles in these salicylic acid-independent pathways. Cross-talk between the salicylic acid-dependent and the salicylic acid-independent pathways provides great regulatory potential for activating multiple resistance mechanisms in varying combinations.
Pieterse
CM
Section of Plant Pathology, Dept of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.84, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van Loon LC