Deciphering the Arabidopsis NPR1-dependent disease-resistance signal transduction pathway and beyond.

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Plants provide us with the food and oxygen we require for our survival. This dependence on plants for food production translates into agriculture being a major employer in Canada. Nevertheless, farm income is dependent on productivity and one of the major problems curtailing agricultural yield is disease caused by microorganisms called pathogens. To protect crops, farmers spray their fields with pesticides, which are chemicals designed to kill pathogens. As a complementary line of defense in crop protection is the use of varieties with enhanced disease resistance to pathogens. The development of these varieties has traditionally been the area of focus of plant breeders. However, molecular biologists and biochemists bring another dimension to this quest. Accordingly, they can develop molecular markers useful in assisting breeders to select resistant varieties. At the same time, molecular biologists and biochemists focus on developing long-term solutions, which require a thorough understanding of the molecular events leading to pathogen resistance. One of these solution is to develop chemistries designed to stimulate a crop’s own immune system, similar conceptually to the way a vaccine boost a person’s immune system.