title: Tree immunity: growing old without antibodies.
abstract: Perennial plants need to cope with changing environments and pathogens over their lifespan. Infections are compartmentalised by localised physiological responses, and multiple apical meristems enable repair and regrowth, but genes are another crucial component in the perception and response to pathogens. In this opinion article we suggest that the mechanism for dynamic pathogen-specific recognition in long-lived plants could be explained by extending our current understanding of plant defence genes. We propose that, in addition to physiological responses, tree defence uses a three-pronged genomic approach involving: (i) gene numbers, (ii) genomic architecture, and (iii) mutation loads accumulated over long lifespans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney, Biomedical Building C81, 1 Central Avenue, Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, NSW 2015, Australia. Electronic address: peri.tobias@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peri A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Tobias
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney, Biomedical Building C81, 1 Central Avenue, Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, NSW 2015, Australia.
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Guest
mesh_terms: D018628:Gene Dosage; D018745:Genome, Plant; D009154:Mutation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014197:Trees / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: R-genes; gene clusters; mutations; transposable elements