Short- and long-distance signaling in plant defense

Abstract

When encountering microbial pathogens, plant cells can recognize danger signals derived from pathogens, activate plant immune responses and generate cell-autonomous as well as non-cell-autonomous defense signaling molecules, which promotes defense responses at the infection site and in the neighboring cells. Meanwhile, local damages can result in the release of immunogenic signals including damage-associated molecule patterns and phytocytokines, which also serve as danger signals to potentiate immune responses in cells surrounding the infection site. Activation of local defense responses further induces the production of long-distance defense signals, which can move to distal tissue to activate systemic acquired resistance. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on various signaling molecules involved in short- and long-distance defense signaling, and emphasize the roles of regulatory proteins involved in the processes.