“Stimulation of the Plant Defense Response: A New Tool for Biological Control of Plant Diseases”

Sage Hall, Room G02, Beirut campus

The lecture will be given by Dr. Hala Samaha.

Summary:
Some defense mechanisms of plants are of the passive type while others are induced after perception of the pathogenic microorganism (very specific gene-for-gene recognition) or of microbial components (non-specific elicitors). These recognition events trigger an array of plant signals and a cascade of signaling pathways which activate a battery of metabolic alterations responsible for the observed induced resistance. These include the stimulated production of low molecular weight molecules with antibiotic activity, cell wall reinforcement by deposition and cross-linking of various macromolecules, and accumulation of a wide range of PR (“pathogenesis-related”) proteins that exhibit direct and/or indirect antimicrobial activities. New studies are currently being developed with the aim to characterize natural elicitors or design chemical messengers capable of triggering an array of plant defense responses. Treatments of plants with elicitors could be an alternative strategy of crop protection with a more satisfactory preservation of the environment. 

Event organizer: School of Arts and Sciences – Department of Natural Sciences