About this Research Topic
Plants resist pest and pathogen attack with defense responses that are often associated with reduced growth. Frequently referred to as “the dilemma of growth versus defense” this physiological conflict is classically interpreted from a resource allocation perspective, wherein a limited pool of metabolic resources can be allocated to either growth or immunity. Recent studies are challenging this rather simplistic zero-sum paradigm, suggesting that regulatory pathways evolved to regulate growth-defense transitions and optimize plant fitness in dynamic environments. Despite these advances, the molecular mechanisms underlying growth and defense tradeoffs remain to be elucidated, hindering our capacity to develop a more holistic framework of the growth-defense balance. Aside from its biological relevance, novel insights on this topic have potential implications for plant productivity and agricultural improvement.
It is becoming evident that plant growth-defense conflicts are determined by hard-wired genetic, metabolic and ecophysiological regulators that constrain plant growth and development during immune responses. While progress has been made to identify these regulators, recent advances in disciplines like systems biology, bioinformatics and -omics sciences offer the potential to identify novel regulatory mechanisms, as well as to provide fresh insights of the existing mechanisms, that balance plant growth and immunity. The goal of this Research Topic is to serve as a compendium of new and interesting perspectives, from diverse research groups and not limited to model systems, of the biological mechanisms underlying growth versus defense antagonisms.
This Research Topic will highlight advances that describe how plants balance growth and immunity during biotic challenge (i.e., plant-arthropod or plant-pathogen interactions), at the genetic, metabolic and ecophysiological levels. Examples of specific themes for contributors to address (but which are not restricted to) include:
- Identification and/or characterization of genetic components involved in growth-defense transitions;
- Dissection of mechanisms that adjust metabolism during growth-defense transitions;
- Modulation of growth-defense balance under different environments (e.g., climate change); and,
- Novel strategies to uncouple growth and defense tradeoffs. Regular research papers, as well as methods papers and reviews will all be considered for publication.
It is becoming evident that plant growth-defense conflicts are determined by hard-wired genetic, metabolic and ecophysiological regulators that constrain plant growth and development during immune responses. While progress has been made to identify these regulators, recent advances in disciplines like systems biology, bioinformatics and -omics sciences offer the potential to identify novel regulatory mechanisms, as well as to provide fresh insights of the existing mechanisms, that balance plant growth and immunity. The goal of this Research Topic is to serve as a compendium of new and interesting perspectives, from diverse research groups and not limited to model systems, of the biological mechanisms underlying growth versus defense antagonisms.
This Research Topic will highlight advances that describe how plants balance growth and immunity during biotic challenge (i.e., plant-arthropod or plant-pathogen interactions), at the genetic, metabolic and ecophysiological levels. Examples of specific themes for contributors to address (but which are not restricted to) include:
- Identification and/or characterization of genetic components involved in growth-defense transitions;
- Dissection of mechanisms that adjust metabolism during growth-defense transitions;
- Modulation of growth-defense balance under different environments (e.g., climate change); and,
- Novel strategies to uncouple growth and defense tradeoffs. Regular research papers, as well as methods papers and reviews will all be considered for publication.
Keywords: growth-defense tradeoffs, plant hormones, transcriptional regulation, metabolic regulation, gene networks, plant stress responses, plant defense/immunity, plant-insect interaction, plant-pathogen interaction, chemical defenses, signaling
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
