Light regulation of plant immunity. Plenary Lecture.

BALLARÉ CL

H Grande

Conferencia; Latin America Association of Chemical Ecology (ALAEQ) Annual Meeting; 2012

ALAEQ

Light regulation of plant immunity   Carlos L. Ballaré   E-mail: ballare@ifeva.edu.ar     IFEVA, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Avenida San Martín 4453, C1417DSE Buenos Aires, Argentina   Plants have sophisticated defense systems to protect their tissues against the attack of herbivorous and pathogenic organisms. Many of these defense mechanisms are orchestrated by the plant hormone jasmonate (JA).  Immune responses activated by JA are tightly controlled by the ecological context of the plant.  Phytochrome B (phyB), a photoreceptor that plants use to detect the proximity of other plants, is emerging as a key regulator of JA signaling (1, 2).  This photo-regulation of JA responses appears to play an important ecological role, modulating the allocation of limited resources to different physiological functions, including growth and defense (3).  In this presentation, I will discuss recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms whereby phyB modulates defense responses, and address the functional implications of the cross-talk between phytochrome and JA signaling.   1.         J. E. Moreno, Y. Tao, J. Chory, C. L. Ballaré, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 4935 (2009). 2.         I. Cerrudo et al., Plant Physiol. 158, 2042 (2012). 3.         C. L. Ballaré, Trends Plant Sci. 16, 249 (2011).    Acknowledgments : Supported by CONICET, ANPCyT and UBACyT