Parasites Are Not Created Equal: On the Difference in the Strategy of the Plant’s Immune Response When Attacked by a Biotroph or a Necrotroph

In nature, a host plant is affected not by a specific pathogen of faunal or floral origin, but by a mixed infection. The soil community of pathogen organisms is mostly represented by necrotrophs: imperfect fungi, nonseptate mycelia of lower fungi, and putrefactive bacteria. On the contrary, vegetative organs of plants are attacked by specialized pathogenic organisms that are spread in the form of spores or, in a case of a viral infection, by insect vectors. The spectrum of pathogens also depends on the phase of plant development. The consideration of positive and negative effects of pathogens from a mixed infection at the level of interference of immune response signaling pathways is important for creation of various immunization schedules.

biotrophs, necrotrophs, mixed infection, molecular phytopathology, immune response signaling pathways