THE OXIDATIVE BURST PROTECTS PLANTS AGAINST PATHOGEN ATTACK - MECHANISM AND ROLE AS AN EMERGENCY SIGNAL FOR PLANT BIO-DEFENSE - A REVIEW

Various aspects, mechanisms and functions of the oxidative burst with generation of O-2(-) superoxide anions in plant cells, which is stimul ated by active defence-inducing agents such as fungal infection or eli citor treatment, were reviewed mainly on the basis of experimental evi dence obtained in a system of Solanaceae plants and Phytophthora spp. The oxidative burst may be due to an O-2(-)-generating NADPH oxidase i n the plasma membrane, which is activated with combinations of cytosol ic proteins, Ca2+ calmodulin and protein kinase, following stimulation by elicitor molecules. The oxidative burst may play the role of an in ternal emergency signal for induction of the metabolic cascade for act ive defence.