Induced defence responses of cereals to pathogen attack

The defence responses of plants are usually composed of a multitude of stru ctural and biochemical events. Some occur constitutively, whereas others, w hich are emphasised in this review, are formed in response to pathogen atta ck and are considered as active reactions of plants. Induction of defence m echanisms can be observed in all plants regardless of their genetic backgro und. Thus, this phenomenon can occur in cultivars with or without known gen es for disease resistance. The general defence features of plants may contr ibute significantly to the overall disease resistance of plants and increas ing evidence for the role of different defence molecules are being obtained from molecular studies. In this review, induction of defence mechanisms, e specially phenylpropanoid metabolism and its role in the defence responses of cereals to pathogen attack is addressed. Also, induced resistance as a p otential tool for disease control in cereals will be briefly discussed.