Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions

This book, divided into 13 chapters, explores recent discoveries in the area of molecular plant-microbe interactions. It focuses mainly on the mechanisms controlling plant disease resistance and the cross talk among the signalling pathways involved, and the strategies used by fungi and viruses to suppress these defences. Two chapters deal with the role of symbionts (such as the symbiotic actinobacteria and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) during their interactions with plants.

The use of microbial plant protection products is growing and their importance will strongly increase due to political and public pressure. World population is growing and the amount of food needed by 2050 will be double of what is produced now whereas the area of agricultural land is decreasing. We must increase crop yield in a sustainable way. Chemical plant growth promoters must be replaced by microbiological products. Also here, the use of microbial products is growing and their importance will strongly increase. A growing area of agricultural land is salinated. Global warming will increase this process. Plants growth is inhibited by salt or even made impossible and farmers tend to disuse the most salinated lands. Microbes have been very successfully used to alleviate salt stress of plants. Chemical pollution of land can make plant growth difficult and crops grown are often polluted and not suitable for consumption. Microbes have been used to degrade these chemical pollutants.

Research on the interaction between plants and microbes continues to attract increasing attention, both within the field as well as in the scientific community at large. Many of the major scientific journals have recently reviewed various aspects of the field. Several papers dealing with plant-microbe interactions have been featured on the covers of scientific publications in the past several months, and the lay press have recently presented feature articles of this field. An additional sign of the interest in this field is that the International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions has almost 500 members. This book is a collection of the papers that were given at the Sixth Inlernational Symposium on the Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions which was held in Seattle, Washington in July, 1992. Approximately 650 scientists attended and approximately 50 lectures covering the topics of Agrobacterium-plant interactions, Rhizobium-plant interactions, bacteria-plant interactions, fungal-plant interactions and new aspects of biotechnology were presented. In addition, many sessions were devoted to the plant response to the microbe. Over 400 posters were presented of which the authors of 20 were selected to give an oral presentation. These papers are included in this volume as well. The symposium also included speakers whose research interests are not directly related to plant-microbe interactions but who are at the cutting edge of research areas that impact on the theme of the symposium. These individuals kindly agreed to summarize their talks and their papers are also included.

Overview. Concepts and terminology in plant-microbe interactions. Factors in pathogenesis. Microbial enzyne regulation and its importance for pathogenicity. Genetics of host-parasite systems: a prospectus for molecular biology. Approaches and tools for research. Diagnostic approaches for the rapid and specific detection of plant viruses and viroids. Theory and practice of genetic engineering. Development of plant vectors. Mutant selection. Molecular biology of recognition. Concepts and experimental approaches in host-microbe recognition. Adsorption of bacteria to plant surfaces. Plant response to the environment. Genetics of rhizobium nodulation. Systemic responses to wounding. Genetic and molecular aspects of resitance induced by infections or chemicals. Plant tumorigenesis. Biological control. Epiphytic microbes as biological control agents. Hypovirulence. A model to explain the "Cross protection" phenomenson shown by plant viruses and viroids.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Plant Microbe Interaction 2017" that was published in IJMS

Increased interest in the basic biology of plants and microorganisms stems from the fact that crop productivity is directly affected by plant-microbe interactions. In spite of the fact that plants exist in the environment amongst diverse species of microorganisms, only a few ever establish a direct relationship. Emerging awareness concerning the indirect effect of microbial association on plant growth and the possibility of using one microbe against another for controlling pathogenic interactions is at the genesis of new fields of studies. The primary reason for a microbe to associate with· photoautotrophic organisms (plants) is to tap its nutritional requirements, fixed carbon, as a source of energy. By hook or by crook, a microbe must survive. Some have evolved mechanisms to exploit plants to develop a niche for their biotropic demands. When in contact with a living plant, microorganisms may live in a passive association using exudates from the plant, invade it pathogenically or coexist with it in symbiosis. The plant responds to the interloper, either reacting in a hypersensitive manner to contain the invasion of pathogens, or by inducing a set of genes that leads toward symbiosis, or by simply succumbing to the invader. Thus, prior to contact wi th the plant, mic roorganism is able to sense the presence of the host and activate accordingly a set of genes required for the forthcoming interaction, whether symbiotic or pathogenic.

Plants and microbes interact in a complex relationship that can have both harmful and beneficial impacts on both plant and microbial communities. Effectors, secreted microbial molecules that alter plant processes and facilitate colonization, are central to understanding the complicated interplay between plants and microbes. Effectors in Plant-Microbe Interactions unlocks the molecular basis of this important class of microbial molecules and describes their diverse and complex interactions with host plants. Effectors in Plant Microbe Interactions is divided into five sections that take stock of the current knowledge on effectors of plant-associated organisms. Coverage ranges from the impact of bacterial, fungal and oomycete effectors on plant immunity and high-throughput genomic analysis of effectors to the function and trafficking of these microbial molecules. The final section looks at effectors secreted by other eukaryotic microbes that are the focus of current and future research efforts. Written by leading international experts in plant-microbe interactions, Effectors in Plant Microbe Interactions, will be an essential volume for plant biologists, microbiologists, pathologists, and geneticists.