The role of carbohydrates in plant immunity

Abstract

Biotic and abiotic stresses cause significant yield losses in rice production, and increasing plant stress tolerance is one of the main breeding goals. Recently, various methods have been used to increase plant resistance to stress. Diseases are among the most important limiting factors affecting rice production. Blast (pathogen - imperfect fungus Pyricularia oryzae Cav.) is the most dangerous and harmful disease of rice, widespread in most rice-growing regions of the world, including Russia. The maximum success in the fight against the causative agent of blast can be achieved through the introduction into production of varieties with long-term resistance to the pathogen. But the creation of effective protection measures is hampered by numerous difficulties associated with a lack of knowledge about the physiology of pathogenesis and the mechanisms of plant resistance to the disease. Fungicides are still widely used to prevent crop diseases, but the secondary effects of some of them on environmental quality, human health and the selection of resistant strains are stimulating research to develop new strategies in the context of sustainable crop production. Various carbohydrates are currently being experimented with for their possible role as resistance inducers. Relationships between resistance and carbohydrate content were studied on six rice cultivars showing different types of resistance to the blast pathogen in the field. Significant relationships between the content of non-structural carbohydrates and rice blast resistance were not found.