Can metals defend plants against biotic stress?
Farmers have used metal compounds in phytosanitary treatments for more than a century; however, it has recently been suggested that plants absorb high concentrations of metals from the substrate as a self-defense mechanism against pathogens and herbivores. This metal defense hypothesis is among the most attractive proposals for the 'reason to be' of metal hyperaccumulator species. On a molecular basis, metal defense against biotic stress seems to imply common and/or complementary pathways of signal perception, signal transduction and metabolism. This does not imply a broad band of co-resistance to different stress types but reflects a continuous cross talk during the coevolution of plants, pathogens and herbivores competing in an environment where efficient metal ion acquisition and ion homeostasis are essential for survival.
Poschenrieder
Charlotte
C
Plant Physiology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain. charlotte.poschenrieder@uab.es
Tolrà
Roser
R
Barceló
Juan
J
D008670:Metals / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology; D015398:Signal Transduction
D008670:Metals