title: Role of plant growth regulators as chemical signals in plant-microbe interactions: a double edged sword.
abstract: Growth regulators act not only as chemicals that modulate plant growth but they also act as signal molecules under various biotic and abiotic stresses. Of all growth regulators, abscisic acid (ABA) is long known for its role in modulating plants response against both biotic and abiotic stress. Although the genetic information for ABA biosynthesis in plants is well documented, the knowledge about ABA biosynthesis in other organisms is still in its infancy. It is known that various microbes including bacteria produce and secrete ABA, but the overall functional significance of why ABA is synthesized by microbes is not known. Here we discuss the functional involvement of ABA biosynthesis by a pathogenic fungus. Furthermore, we propose that ABA biosynthesis in plant pathogenic fungi could be targeted for novel fungicidal discovery.
authors.affiliation: Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Newark, DE 19711, United States; Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.affiliation: Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Newark, DE 19711, United States; Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States. Electronic address: hbais@udel.edu.
authors.forename: Harsh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bais
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D000040:Abscisic Acid