Plant pathogens and integrated defence responses to infection

Plants cannot move to escape environmental challenges. Biotic stresses resu lt from a battery of potential pathogens: fungi, bacteria, nematodes and in sects intercept the photosynthate produced by plants, and viruses use repli cation machinery at the host's expense. Plants, in turn, have evolved sophi sticated mechanisms to perceive such attacks, and to translate that percept ion into an adaptive response. Here, we review the current knowledge of rec ognition-dependent disease resistance in plants. We include a few crucial c oncepts to compare and contrast plant innate immunity with that more common ly associated with animals. There are appreciable differences, but also sur prising parallels.