Call for articles – Role of phytohormones and plant-growth regulators in the regulation of plant immunity

DEADLINE CHANGED TO 31st MARCH 2024.

Pathogenic microbes are responsible for enormous crop loss during pre and post-harvest storage conditions and, thus, are one of the major threats to sustainable crop production. In particular, fungal pathogens cause some of the most devastating diseases of staple crops, including blast disease of rice and leaf rust, Fusarium head blight, Septoria leaf blotch, stripe rust, spot blotch, tan spot, and powdery mildew of wheat. Therefore, efforts need to be made to limit these crop diseases to ensure food security in the upcoming two decades, which are predicted to have a rapid expansion of population and extreme changes in global environmental conditions.

The fitness of plants during pathogen invasion is dependent on the successful recognition of invading pathogens and subsequent activation of defense response, which may culminate into resistance. The final outcome of a defense response is determined by the type and extent of activated immunity which is governed by the genetic potential of the hosts and an interplay of various classical phytohormones and emerging plant growth regulators (PGRs). Often, the crosstalk among different phytohormones and PGRs through biosynthesis and signaling nodes is required to balance the defense response and growth under stress conditions. Among others, the role of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid in the regulation of plant defense responses is well established. In addition, accumulating evidence also suggests the key roles of PGRs (including hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), melatonin, nitric oxide (NO), and polyamines) in the regulation of stress response in plants. These emerging PGRs regulate the NADPH-oxidase (RBOH)-mediated ROS burst and other components of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI), including callose deposition and expression of PR-proteins. Among these, NO and H₂S induce S-nitrosylation and S-sulfhydration of the target proteins, respectively, to regulate the plant defense response; however, the information on these post-translationally modified proteins and their role in plant immune responses are largely scanty. Moreover, the exact role and underlying mechanism of other PGRs in regulating plant immune responses are not well understood.

In this special issue, we welcome original research, short communications, and reviews highlighting the role of phytohormones and emerging PGRs in the regulation of plant defense responses in the following research areas but not limited to:

• Involvement of plant growth regulators in the regulation of PTI and ETI signaling
• Role of phytohormones and plant growth regulators in plant-pathogen interaction
• Phytohormones and plant growth regulators-mediated regulation of immune response
• Crosstalk between phytohormone and plant growth regulators under pathogen attack
• Molecular mechanism underlying phytohormones and plant growth regulators induced defense response
• NO-induced S-nitrosylation and tyrosine nitration, as well as H₂S-induced S-sulfhydration proteome investigation during plant-pathogen interactions

This special issue will be open for submission POSTPONED TO 31st March 2024.

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-if you want to write a minireview, send an abstract to ravigupta@kookmin.ac.kr

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