Cell death in plant protection: improving the security of food supply by the means of molecular biology

Abstract

An important topic in agriculture is the protection of plants against biotic stresses caused by pathogens and abiotic stresses caused by environmental factors. Traditionally, chemical pesticides are used to protect against pathogens, but they can be harmful to the environment and to our health. Thus, there is a strong need to replace them with environmentally friendly substances. Promising biopesticides could be the elicitor harpin proteins studied by our research group. These proteins induce immune responses in plants without an actual pathogen infection, thus increasing their resistance against them. Other beneficial effects of harpins have also been described, such as more intensive growth or higher yields. The mechanisms of action of these proteins are not yet fully elucidated. However, a better understanding could help develop more effective biopesticides. As the average temperature of the Earth rises, ferroptosis-like cell death induced by heat stress may also play an increasingly important role. Although this form of cell death was first described in 2017, its exact molecular mechanism is still unknown. Our results reviewed here suggest that reactive carbonyl species, including acrolein, may play a mediator role in it. Based on the literature, ferroptosis-like cell death is also involved in the hypersensitive response due to pathogen attack, so a better understanding of the cell death process may help protect plants against biotic and abiotic stresses.