Plant Proteomics and Peptidomics in Host-Pathogen Interactions: The Weapons Used by Each Side

Abstract

Environmental biotic stress factors act continuously on plants, through multiple molecular interactions that eventually lead to the establishment and progress of symbiotic or pathogenic complex interactions. Proteins and peptides play noteworthy roles in such biological processes, usually being the main effectors since the initial recognizing and elicitor functions until the following transduction, gene regulation and physiological responses activities. Ranging from specific regulators to direct antimicrobial agents, plant or pathogen proteins and peptides comprise the arsenal available to each side in this biological war, resulting from the genetic coding potential inherited by each one. Post-translational research tools have widely contributed with valuable information on how the plant proteome works to achieve, maintain and adjust plant immunity in order to properly cope with the challenging pathogenic derived proteomes. These key proteins and peptides have great biotechnological potential since they represent distinctive features of each pathogen group (fungi, bacteria, viruses and other) in response to molecules of defense of host plants.

Red pepper peptide coatings control Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion and biofilm formation

“…Plants are constantly exposed to a large variety of pathogenic microorganisms, and they produce natural compounds as resistance factors, such as constitutive peptides and proteins. [54][55][56] Peptides are a very common chemical component of Capsicum seeds. 50,57 In this context, some studies have suggested that plant-derived peptide fractions exhibit antiadhesive properties.…”

Editorial (Thematic Issue: Plant Immunity and Beyond: Signals from Proteins & Peptides)

“…Possibilities to overcome existing difficulties and potentialities are also addressed. Such as for genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics, a review of aspects of proteomics and peptidomics studies related to plant defense is covered in a specific article (Silva et al [14]), confirming the existence of an abundant molecular richness as a result of post-transcriptional modifications, emphasizing the complexity of the plant biological system.…”