Different micro-organisms differentially induce Arabidopsis disease response pathways

In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, several signal transduction pathways can be activated upon pathogen challenge leading to the activation of different (sets of) effector molecules. In the past it has been demonstrated that these different signal transduction pathways contribute differentially to resistance against distinct microbial pathogens. In this study, it is shown that not all pathogens activate the full set of defence responses. This indicates that depending on the particular interactions between elicitors and suppressors with their cognate plant targets, defence response cascades may or may not become activated during pathogenesis. These findings imply that current models of plant-pathogen interactions must be revised to take into account the pathogen-dependent nature of many defence responses.