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Current Biology : CB Jun 2022Walking through a garden or a crop field, you may notice that plants damaged by pests (insects or pathogens) look smaller than the same kind of plants nearby that are...
Walking through a garden or a crop field, you may notice that plants damaged by pests (insects or pathogens) look smaller than the same kind of plants nearby that are not damaged. An obvious explanation would be that damaged plants may have lost substantial photosynthetic tissue due to insect and pathogen activities. As such, plants may have a reduced ability to capture light and perform photosynthesis, which fuels the growth of plants. While this is likely part of the reason why damaged plants look smaller, there is also another and perhaps more fascinating explanation that we would like to discuss here in this primer. It turns out that plants attacked by insects, pathogens and other biotic stressors may 'purposely' slow down their growth and that this response is often systemic, meaning that it occurs throughout the plant and beyond the tissue that is damaged by pests. Interestingly, some chemicals or plant genetic mutations that simulate insect or pathogen attacks without causing a loss of photosynthetic tissue can also slow plant growth, suggesting the physical loss of photosynthetic tissue per se is not always a prerequisite for slowing down plant growth. In contrast, there are conditions under which plants need to grow rapidly. For example, plants grow quickly when searching for light during germination or under a shaded canopy due to crowding from neighboring plants. Under these conditions, rapid plant growth is often accompanied by increased susceptibility to pests, presumably because growth is prioritized over defense. This inverse growth-defense relationship is commonly known as the 'growth-defense trade-off' and may be considered one of the most fundamental principles of 'plant economics' that allows plants to adjust growth and defense based on external conditions (Figure 1). As plants must both grow and defend in order to reproduce and survive in the natural world, growth-defense trade-offs have important ecological consequences. In agricultural settings, crops have often been bred to maximize growth-related traits, which could inadvertently result in the loss of useful genetic traits for biotic defenses. Thus, deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying growth-defense trade-off phenomena could impact future crop breeding strategies aimed at designing superior crop plants with high yields as well as the ability to defend against biotic stressors. Here, we discuss some of the prevailing hypotheses about growth-defense trade-offs, our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms, and the ongoing efforts to optimize growth-defense trade-offs in crop plants.
Topics: Animals; Crops, Agricultural; Insecta; Plant Breeding; Plant Development
PubMed: 35728544
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.070 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Apr 2014Providing an adequate quantity and quality of food for the escalating human population under changing climatic conditions is currently a great challenge. In outdoor... (Review)
Review
Providing an adequate quantity and quality of food for the escalating human population under changing climatic conditions is currently a great challenge. In outdoor cultures, sunlight provides energy (through photosynthesis) for photosynthetic organisms. They also use light quality to sense and respond to their environment. To increase the production capacity, controlled growing systems using artificial lighting have been taken into consideration. Recent development of light-emitting diode (LED) technologies presents an enormous potential for improving plant growth and making systems more sustainable. This review uses selected examples to show how LED can mimic natural light to ensure the growth and development of photosynthetic organisms, and how changes in intensity and wavelength can manipulate the plant metabolism with the aim to produce functionalized foods.
Topics: Agriculture; Energy Metabolism; Light; Lighting; Models, Biological; Photosynthesis; Plant Development
PubMed: 24591723
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0243 -
Plant Physiology Oct 2021The development of multicellular organisms has been studied for centuries, yet many critical events and mechanisms of regulation remain challenging to observe directly.... (Review)
Review
The development of multicellular organisms has been studied for centuries, yet many critical events and mechanisms of regulation remain challenging to observe directly. Early research focused on detailed observational and comparative studies. Molecular biology has generated insights into regulatory mechanisms, but only for a limited number of species. Now, synthetic biology is bringing these two approaches together, and by adding the possibility of sculpting novel morphologies, opening another path to understanding biology. Here, we review a variety of recently invented techniques that use CRISPR/Cas9 and phage integrases to trace the differentiation of cells over various timescales, as well as to decode the molecular states of cells in high spatiotemporal resolution. Most of these tools have been implemented in animals. The time is ripe for plant biologists to adopt and expand these approaches. Here, we describe how these tools could be used to monitor development in diverse plant species, as well as how they could guide efforts to recode programs of interest.
Topics: CRISPR-Cas Systems; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Gene Editing; Genetic Engineering; Integrases; Molecular Biology; Plant Development; Synthetic Biology; Systems Biology
PubMed: 35237818
DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab336 -
Molecular Plant Nov 2010
Topics: Carbohydrate Metabolism; Carbon; Nitrogen; Plant Development; Plants
PubMed: 21115651
DOI: 10.1093/mp/ssq069 -
Plant, Cell & Environment Oct 2019
Topics: Botany; Germination; Global Warming; Microbiota; Plant Development; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants; Seeds; Stress, Physiological; Temperature
PubMed: 31603569
DOI: 10.1111/pce.13648 -
Current Biology : CB Jun 2023Environmental factors such as light, water, minerals, temperature, and other organisms affect plant growth and development. Unlike animals, plants can't escape from...
Environmental factors such as light, water, minerals, temperature, and other organisms affect plant growth and development. Unlike animals, plants can't escape from unfavorable biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, they evolved the ability to biosynthesize specific chemicals referred to as plant specialized metabolites in order to facilitate successful interactions with the surrounding environment, as well as with other organisms including plants, insects, microorganisms, and animals. While the exact number of plant specialized metabolites, historically called secondary metabolites, is currently unknown, it has been estimated to range from 200,000 to 1,000,000 compounds. In contrast to the species-, organ- and tissue-specific nature of plant specialized metabolites, primary metabolites are shared by all living organisms, are vital for growth, development and reproduction, and comprise only about 8,000 compounds. The biosynthesis and storage of plant specialized metabolites are developmentally and temporally regulated and depend on biotic and abiotic factors. Specific cell types, subcellular organelles, microcompartments, and/or anatomical structures are often devoted to producing and storing these compounds. The functions of many specialized metabolites are still not fully understood but are generally considered to be essential for the fitness and survival of plants, partially by interacting with other organisms in both mutualistic (for example, attraction of pollinators) and antagonistic (such as defense against herbivores and pathogens) ways. In this primer, we will focus on specialized-metabolite functions in plant defense interactions and on the genetic, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms leading to the structural diversity of specialized metabolites. Though less understood, we will also touch on the mode of action of specialized metabolites in plant defense.
Topics: Animals; Plants; Plant Development
PubMed: 37279678
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.057 -
Current Biology : CB Sep 2017Braam and Chehab introduce thigmomorphogenesis - the phenomenon of touch-induced changes in plant growth and development.
Braam and Chehab introduce thigmomorphogenesis - the phenomenon of touch-induced changes in plant growth and development.
Topics: Humans; Physical Stimulation; Plant Development; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants; Touch
PubMed: 28898652
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.008 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2019Anthropogenic pollution of agricultural soils with cadmium (Cd) should receive adequate attention as Cd accumulation in crops endangers human health. When Cd is present... (Review)
Review
Anthropogenic pollution of agricultural soils with cadmium (Cd) should receive adequate attention as Cd accumulation in crops endangers human health. When Cd is present in the soil, plants are exposed to it throughout their entire life cycle. As it is a non-essential element, no specific Cd uptake mechanisms are present. Therefore, Cd enters the plant through transporters for essential elements and consequently disturbs plant growth and development. In this review, we will focus on the effects of Cd on the most important events of a plant's life cycle covering seed germination, the vegetative phase and the reproduction phase. Within the vegetative phase, the disturbance of the cell cycle by Cd is highlighted with special emphasis on endoreduplication, DNA damage and its relation to cell death. Furthermore, we will discuss the cell wall as an important structure in retaining Cd and the ability of plants to actively modify the cell wall to increase Cd tolerance. As Cd is known to affect concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phytohormones, special emphasis is put on the involvement of these compounds in plant developmental processes. Lastly, possible future research areas are put forward and a general conclusion is drawn, revealing that Cd is agonizing for all stages of plant development.
Topics: Cadmium; Cell Wall; Germination; Oxidative Stress; Plant Development; Seeds
PubMed: 31443183
DOI: 10.3390/ijms20163971 -
The New Phytologist Sep 2015985 I. 985 II. 986 III. 987 IV. 988 V. 989 989 References 989 SUMMARY: The development of multicellular organisms depends on correct establishment of symmetry both at... (Review)
Review
985 I. 985 II. 986 III. 987 IV. 988 V. 989 989 References 989 SUMMARY: The development of multicellular organisms depends on correct establishment of symmetry both at the whole-body scale and within individual tissues and organs. Setting up planes of symmetry must rely on communication between cells that are located at a distance from each other within the organism, presumably via mobile morphogenic signals. Although symmetry in nature has fascinated scientists for centuries, it is only now that molecular data to unravel mechanisms of symmetry establishment are beginning to emerge. As an example we describe the genetic and hormonal interactions leading to an unusual bilateral-to-radial symmetry transition of an organ in order to promote reproduction.
Topics: Animals; Plant Development; Plants
PubMed: 26086581
DOI: 10.1111/nph.13526 -
Advanced Science (Weinheim,... Jan 2022Plants have complex internal signaling pathways to quickly adjust to environmental changes and harvest energy from the environment. Facing the growing population, there... (Review)
Review
Plants have complex internal signaling pathways to quickly adjust to environmental changes and harvest energy from the environment. Facing the growing population, there is an urgent need for plant transformation and precise monitoring of plant growth to improve crop yields. Nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary research field, has recently been boosting plant yields and meeting global energy needs. In this context, a new field, "plant nanoscience," which describes the interaction between plants and nanotechnology, emerges as the times require. Nanosensors, nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and nano-plant genetic engineering are of great help in increasing crop yields. Nanogenerators are helping to develop the potential of plants in the field of energy harvesting. Furthermore, the uptake and internalization of nanomaterials in plants and the possible effects are also worthy of attention. In this review, a forward-looking perspective on the plant nanoscience is presented and feasible solutions for future food shortages and energy crises are provided.
Topics: Agriculture; Crops, Agricultural; Fertilizers; Genetic Engineering; Nanostructures; Nanotechnology; Pesticides; Plant Development
PubMed: 34761568
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103414