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Priming: it’s all the world to induced disease resistance

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Abstract

After infection by a necrotising pathogen, colonisation of the roots with certain beneficial microbes, or after treatment with various chemicals, many plants establish a unique physiological situation that is called the ‘primed’ state of the plant. In the primed condition, plants are able to ‘recall’ the previous infection, root colonisation or chemical treatment. As a consequence, primed plants respond more rapidly and/or effectively when re-exposed to biotic or abiotic stress, a feature that is frequently associated with enhanced disease resistance. Though priming has been known as a component of induced resistance for a long time, most progress in the understanding of the phenomenon has been made over the past few years. Here we summarize the current knowledge of priming and its relevance for plant protection in the field.

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Abbreviations

BABA:

β-aminobutyric acid

IR:

induced resistance

ISR:

induced systemic resistance

MAMP:

microbe-associated molecular pattern

SA:

salicylic acid

SAR:

systemic acquired resistance

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Acknowledgements

Research on priming in the Plant Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Group is supported by BASF, BASF Plant Science, Bayer CropScience, the German Science Foundation (DFG) and the Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Foundation.

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  1. Plant Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Group, Department of Plant Physiology, RWTH Aachen University, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Katharina Goellner & Uwe Conrath

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  1. Katharina Goellner
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  2. Uwe Conrath
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Correspondence to Uwe Conrath.

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Goellner, K., Conrath, U. Priming: it’s all the world to induced disease resistance. Eur J Plant Pathol 121, 233–242 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-007-9251-4

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