Evidence has arisen over the last decade demonstrating that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a central role in pathogen defense in both plants in animals. Plants produce a localized oxidative burst wherein massive amounts of antimicrobial superoxide and hydrogen peroxide by pathogen induced NADPH oxidase localized to the plant plasma membrane. In addition to its antimicrobial activity hydrogen peroxide also triggers the hypersensitive response where plant programmed cell death (PCD) occurs at the site of infection. Hydrogen peroxide also plays a central role in the local and systemic regulation of pathogenesis related proteins. In this study we will present evidence that Hessian fly resistant wheat also produce localized oxidative bursts of ROS, that regulates a local hypersensitive response and PCD, and pathogenesis related and defense gene expression in response to an avirulent biotype.
Species 1: Diptera Cecidomyiidae Mayetiola destructor (Hessian fly)
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA