Plant defence involves many mechanisms which are controlled by phytohormone signaling pathways. From the plant side, pathogen attack triggers signaling pathways connected with salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic (JA) acid and ethylene (ET). On the contrary, pathogens have evolved mechanisms to manipulate plant signaling pathways to their own advantage.

 

We are interested in molecular mechanisms of the infection process with the focus on phytohormones and their signaling. 

 

An unusual cooperation between SA and JA signaling pathways that contributes to plant resistance was observed in B. napus - L. maculans (Šašek et al., 2012) and in B. napus – Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathosystems (Nováková et al. 2014).  To our surprise, L. maculans is also able to produce phytohormones by itself. We described biosynthetic pathways of cytokinins (Trda et al., 2017) and auxins (Leontovycova et al., 2020) in this pathogen. Future work will reveal, whether L. maculans-secreted phytohormones can manipulate B. napus defence signaling.

 

We are currently exploring hormonal cross-talk connected with plant defence against fungi, bacteria and herbivores.