EARLY SIGNAL-TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS IN PLANT-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS

Disease resistance depends on the ability of the plant to recognize a pathogen early in the infection process. Molecules that indicate the p resence of the pathogen (elicitors) activate host receptors and these rapidly generate an internal signal that triggers early defense respon ses, Several transduction pathways that relay the initial recognition signal through a series of cytosolic and membrane-delimited pathways h ave been proposed, Activation of these signal transduction pathways en sures an elicitor-induced response that is quantitative, timely and co ordinated with other activities of the host cells.