The Role of Radical Burst in Plant Defense Responses to Necrotrophic Fungi

Necrotrophic fungi, being the largest class of fungal plant pathogens, pose a serious economic problem to crop production. Nitric oxide (NO) is an essential regulatory molecule in plant immunity in synergy with reactive oxygen species (ROS). Most experimental data available on the roles of NO and ROS during plant-pathogen interactions are from studies of infections by potential biotrophic pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. However, there are several arguments about the role of ROS in defense responses during plants and necrotrophic pathogens interaction and little is known about the role of NO as a counterpart of ROS in disease resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. This review focuses on the recent knowledge about the role of oxidative burst in plant defense response to necrotrophic fungi.