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Secondary metabolites as plant defensive strategy: a large role for small molecules in the near root region

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Abstract

The roles of plant roots are not merely limited to the provision of mechanical support, nutrients and water, but also include more specific roles, such as the capacity to secrete diverse chemical substances. These metabolites are actively secreted in the near root and play specific and significant functions in plant defense and communication. In this review, we detail the various preventive roles of these powerful substances in the rhizosphere with a perspective as to how plants recruit microbes as a preventive measure against other pathogenic microbes, also, briefly about how the rhizosphere can repel insect pests, and how these chemical substances alter microbial dynamics and enhance symbiotic relationships. We also highlight the need for more research in this area to detail the mode of action and quantification of these compounds in the environment and their roles in some important biological processes in microorganisms and plants.

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Abbreviations

BXs:

Benzoxazinoids

PGPB:

Plant growth-promoting bacteria

ACC deaminase:

1-Aminocyclopane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase

PGP:

Plant growth-promoting

LOCs:

Lipo-chitooligosaccharides

PHB:

Polyhydroxybutyrate

EPS:

Exopolysaccharides

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Acknowledgements

North-West University is appreciated and acknowledged for the school bursaries provided to AAA. Profs Max Haggblom and Lee Kerkhof for their guidance and the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA for the SEBS fellowship awarded to AAA. OOB thanks the National Research Foundation, South Africa, for grant (UID123634) that has supported research in our laboratory.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation Grant number UID 123634.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa

    Atilade Adedayo Adedeji & Olubukola Oluranti Babalola

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Atilade Adedayo Adedeji

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  1. Atilade Adedayo Adedeji
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  2. Olubukola Oluranti Babalola
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Correspondence to Olubukola Oluranti Babalola.

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Communicated by Gerhard Leubner.

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Adedeji, A.A., Babalola, O.O. Secondary metabolites as plant defensive strategy: a large role for small molecules in the near root region. Planta 252, 61 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-020-03468-1

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