Annual Plant Reviews, Plant-Pathogen Interactions

Book excerpt: Annual Plant Reviews, Volume 11 Plant diseases are destructive and threaten virtually any cropgrown on a commercial scale. They are kept in check by plantbreeding strategies that have introgressed disease resistance genesinto many important crops, and by the deployment of costly controlmeasures, such as antibiotics and fungicides. However, the capacityfor the agents of plant disease – viruses, bacteria, fungiand oomycetes – to adapt to new conditions, overcomingdisease resistance and becoming resistant to pesticides, is verygreat. For these reasons, understanding the biology of plantdiseases is essential for the development of durable controlstrategies. This volume provides an overview of our current knowledge ofplant-pathogen interactions and the establishment of plant disease,drawing together fundamental new information on plant infectionmechanisms and host responses. The role of molecular signals, generegulation and the physiology of pathogenic organisms areemphasised, but the role of the prevailing environment in theconditioning of disease is also discussed. This is a book for researchers and professionals in plantpathology, cell biology, molecular biology and genetics.