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γ-Aminobutyric acid and related amino acids in plant immune responses: Emerging mechanisms of action |
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| Authors: | Łukasz P Tarkowski Santiago Signorelli Monica Höfte |
| Institution: | 1. Seed Metabolism and Stress Team, INRAE Angers, UMR1345 Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences, Bâtiment A, Beaucouzé cedex, France;2. Laboratorio de Bioquímica, Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Sayago CP, Montevideo, Uruguay
The School of Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia, Crawley CP, WA, Australia Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley CP, WA, Australia;3. Laboratory of Phytopathology, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium |
| Abstract: | The entanglement between primary metabolism regulation and stress responses is a puzzling and fascinating theme in plant sciences. Among the major metabolites found in plants, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) fulfils important roles in connecting C and N metabolic fluxes through the GABA shunt. Activation of GABA metabolism is known since long to occur in plant tissues following biotic stresses, where GABA appears to have substantially different modes of action towards different categories of pathogens and pests. While it can harm insects thanks to its inhibitory effect on the neuronal transmission, its capacity to modulate the hypersensitive response in attacked host cells was proven to be crucial for host defences in several pathosystems. In this review, we discuss how plants can employ GABA's versatility to effectively deal with all the major biotic stressors, and how GABA can shape plant immune responses against pathogens by modulating reactive oxygen species balance in invaded plant tissues. Finally, we discuss the connections between GABA and other stress-related amino acids such as BABA (β-aminobutyric acid), glutamate and proline. |
| Keywords: | BABA biotic stress GABA glutamate hypersensitive response primary metabolism proline ROS |