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The role of abscisic acid in plant-pathogen interactions

    Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2005 Aug;8(4):409-14 [Full text]

Mauch-Mani B., Mauch F.

University of Neuchatel, Faculty of Science, Institute of Botany, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Rue Emile Argand 11, BP 2, 2007 Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Pérolles, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland

The effect of the abiotic stress hormone abscisic acid on plant disease resistance is a neglected field of research. With few exceptions, abscisic acid has been considered a negative regulator of disease resistance. This negative effect appears to be due to the interference of abscisic acid with biotic stress signaling that is regulated by salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene, and to an additional effect of ABA on shared components of stress signaling. However, recent research shows that abscisic acid can also be implicated in increasing the resistance of plants towards pathogens via its positive effect on callose deposition.

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