Anastasiia Buziashvili & Alla Yemets

Transgenic Research (2022); Published: 19 December 2022

Abstract

Agricultural crops are susceptible to many diseases caused by various pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi. This paper reviews the general principles of plant protection against pathogens, as well as the role of iron and antimicrobial peptide metabolism in plant immunity. The article highlights the principles of antibacterial, fungicidal and antiviral action of lactoferrin, a mammalian secretory glycoprotein, and lactoferrin peptides, and their role in protecting plants from phytopathogens. This review offers a comprehensive analysis and shows potential prospects of using the lactoferrin gene to enhance plant resistance to various phytopathogens, as well as the advantages of this biotechnological approach over existing methods of protecting plants against various diseases.

See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11248-022-00331-9

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the key events in plant immune response (indicated as PTI, ETS, ETI, SAR, ISR), gene groups involved in defense strategies (green boxes), the cellular outcomes (blue boxes) and the functions of lactoferrin (red box) which enhance plant’s resistance to phytopathogens (underlined). PAMPs—Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns; PRR—Pattern Recognition Receptors; PTI—PAMP-Triggered Immunity; ETS—Effector-Triggered Susceptibility; R-genes—Resistance genes; NB-LRR receprots—receptors with nucleotide-binding domains and leucine-rich repeats; PR-genes—Pathogenesis-Related genes; SA—salicylic acid; JA—jasmonate; ET—ethylene; HR—Hypersensitive Response; ROS—reactive oxygen species; SAR—Systemic Acquired Resistance; ETI—Effector-Triggered Immunity; ISR—Induced Systemic Resistance; PGPB—Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria