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Plant Hormones and Metabolites as Universal Vocabulary in Plant Defense Signaling

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Biocommunication of Plants

Part of the book series: Signaling and Communication in Plants ((SIGCOMM,volume 14))

Abstract

Plants are sessile organisms exposed to a highly dynamic environment, and physiological flexibility including the rapid activation of suitable defense responses is crucial for their survival. Plants are confronted with an armada of pathogens and pests, and throughout the ongoing evolutionary arms race with these attackers, they have developed a sophisticated chemical signaling system, which allows them to activate highly specific and targeted defense responses. In this context, plant hormones and secondary metabolites play a pivotal role: they serve as signals in an intricate local and systemic communication network. This chapter presents recent insights into the vocabulary used by plants to fend off pathogens and pests.

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Acknowledgements

The authors were supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “Plant Survival” and by SNF Grant 31003A-120197, both research programs of the Swiss National Science Foundation. We also thank Ana Slaughter for critical reading of the manuscript. We apologize to our colleagues who could not be cited in this review due to space restrictions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Dirk Balmer & Brigitte Mauch-Mani

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  1. Dirk Balmer
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  2. Brigitte Mauch-Mani
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Correspondence to Brigitte Mauch-Mani .

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  1. Telos - Philosophische Praxis, Vogelsangstr. 18c, Bürmoos, 5111, Austria

    Günther Witzany

  2. Inst. Zelluläre und Molekulare, Botanik (IZMB), Universität Bonn, Kirschallee 1, Bonn, 53115, Germany

    František Baluška

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Balmer, D., Mauch-Mani, B. (2012). Plant Hormones and Metabolites as Universal Vocabulary in Plant Defense Signaling. In: Witzany, G., Baluška, F. (eds) Biocommunication of Plants. Signaling and Communication in Plants, vol 14. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23524-5_3

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