Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

QUORUM QUENCHING A PROSPECTIVE TARGET FOR PLANT PATHOGENESIS

Jasina, Anshul Phaugat, Sonia Goel, Mohinder Singh, Upasana Sarma and Sapna Grewal

Abstract

Crop loss combating by targeting plant patohogenesis is an important tool to meet food challenges for raising human population. Biological science is enriched with a number of microflora which shows a beneficial impact on several plant mechanisms along with plant pathogenesis. Microbes also act as biological control agents by detection of signal molecules during cell–cell communication processes called quorum sensing. Quorum sensing regulates a diverse number of pathogenic traits by the production of extracellular polysaccharides, degradative enzymes, antibiotics, siderophores, allelochemicals and other pigments. Plants also secrete several enzymes or antibodies that disrupt quorum sensing systems which eventually act as antimicrobial compounds leading to Quorum Quenching. It becomes another possible challenging technique to monitor the response of quorum quenching enzymes which can demolish the quorum sensing signals from pathogenic microbes. It is highly obligatory to scout for alternative methods to administrate bacterial infections which can lead to the suppression of virulence expression. One of the coherent approaches for the same is the quorum quenching which can diminish bacterial quorum sensing ultimately by blocking the expression of the pathogenic gene in the virulent phenotype. The current review is aimed to highlight the role of Quorum Quenching in plant disease control.