Network organization of the plant immune system: from pathogen perception to robust defense induction. (2nd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Delplace, Florent; Huard‐Chauveau, Carine; Berthomé, Richard; Roby, Dominique
• Is Part Of: Plant journal. Volume 109:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 447
• Page End: 470
• Publication Date: 2021-09-02
• Subjects: plant immune system -- molecular networks -- plant–pathogen interactions -- quantitative disease resistance -- robustness -- environmental constraints; Plant molecular biology -- Periodicals; Plant cells and tissues -- Periodicals; Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15462
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-7412

Abstract

SUMMARY: The plant immune system has been explored essentially through the study of qualitative resistance, a simple form of immunity, and from a reductionist point of view. The recent identification of genes conferring quantitative disease resistance revealed a large array of functions, suggesting more complex mechanisms. In addition, thanks to the advent of high‐throughput analyses and system approaches, our view of the immune system has become more integrative, revealing that plant immunity should rather be seen as a distributed and highly connected molecular network including diverse functions to optimize expression of plant defenses to pathogens. Here, we review the recent progress made to understand the network complexity of regulatory pathways leading to plant immunity, from pathogen perception, through signaling pathways and finally to immune responses. We also analyze the topological organization of these networks and their emergent properties, crucial to predict novel immune functions and test them experimentally. Finally, we report how these networks might be regulated by environmental clues. Although system approaches remain extremely scarce in this area of research, a growing body of evidence indicates that the plant response to combined biotic and abiotic stresses cannot be inferred from responses to individual stresses. A view of possible research avenues in this nascent biology domain is finally proposed. Significance Statement: Understanding the complexity of plant immune responses to pathogens is a major challenge for agriculture, notably in the context of climate change. In this review, we describe the recent advances made by network‐based approaches to understand the complexity of regulatory pathways leading to plant immunity, from pathogen perception, through signaling pathways and finally to immune responses, and their regulation by environmental clues.