Bektas Yasemin, Eulgem Thomas
Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology - Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, CA, USA ; Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Gaziosmanpasa University Tokat, Turkey.
Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology - Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, CA, USA.
Front Plant Sci. 2015 Jan 26;5:804. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2014.00804. eCollection 2014.
To defend themselves against invading pathogens plants utilize a complex regulatory network that coordinates extensive transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming. Although many of the key players of this immunity-associated network are known, the details of its topology and dynamics are still poorly understood. As an alternative to forward and reverse genetic studies, chemical genetics-related approaches based on bioactive small molecules have gained substantial popularity in the analysis of biological pathways and networks. Use of such molecular probes can allow researchers to access biological space that was previously inaccessible to genetic analyses due to gene redundancy or lethality of mutations. Synthetic elicitors are small drug-like molecules that induce plant defense responses, but are distinct from known natural elicitors of plant immunity. While the discovery of some synthetic elicitors had already been reported in the 1970s, recent breakthroughs in combinatorial chemical synthesis now allow for inexpensive high-throughput screens for bioactive plant defense-inducing compounds. Along with powerful reverse genetics tools and resources available for model plants and crop systems, comprehensive collections of new synthetic elicitors will likely allow plant scientists to study the intricacies of plant defense signaling pathways and networks in an unparalleled fashion. As synthetic elicitors can protect crops from diseases, without the need to be directly toxic for pathogenic organisms, they may also serve as promising alternatives to conventional biocidal pesticides, which often are harmful for the environment, farmers and consumers. Here we are discussing various types of synthetic elicitors that have been used for studies on the plant immune system, their modes-of-action as well as their application in crop protection.
为了抵御入侵的病原体，植物利用一个复杂的调控网络来协调广泛的转录和代谢重编程。尽管这个与免疫相关的网络中的许多关键参与者已为人所知，但其拓扑结构和动态细节仍知之甚少。作为正向和反向遗传学研究的替代方法，基于生物活性小分子的化学遗传学相关方法在生物途径和网络分析中已大受欢迎。使用这类分子探针可使研究人员进入由于基因冗余或突变致死性而以前无法通过遗传分析进入的生物空间。合成激发子是诱导植物防御反应的类药物小分子，但不同于已知的植物免疫天然激发子。虽然在20世纪70年代就已报道了一些合成激发子的发现，但组合化学合成方面的最新突破现在使得能够对生物活性植物防御诱导化合物进行低成本的高通量筛选。连同可用于模式植物和作物系统的强大反向遗传学工具和资源，新合成激发子的全面收集可能会使植物科学家以前所未有的方式研究植物防御信号通路和网络的复杂性。由于合成激发子可保护作物免受病害，而无需对致病生物直接有毒，它们也可能成为传统杀生物农药的有前途的替代品，传统农药往往对环境、农民和消费者有害。在此，我们讨论了已用于植物免疫系统研究的各种类型的合成激发子、它们的作用方式以及它们在作物保护中的应用。
