Pathogenesis-related protein

Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins are proteins produced in plants in the event of a pathogen attack.[1] They are induced as part of systemic acquired resistance. Infections activate genes that produce PR proteins. Some of these proteins are antimicrobial, attacking molecules in the cell wall of a bacterium or fungus. Others may function as signals that spread “news” of the infection to nearby cells. Infections also stimulate the cross-linking of molecules in the cell wall and the deposition of lignin, responses that set up a local barricade that slows spread of the pathogen to other parts of the plant.[2]

Salicylic acid plays a role in the resistance to pathogens by inducing the production of pathogenesis-related proteins.[3] Many proteins found in wine are grape pathogen-related proteins.[4] Those include thaumatin-like proteins and chitinases.

Many pathogenesis-related protein families also coincide with groups of human allergens, even though the allergy may have nothing to do with the defense function of the proteins.[5] Grouping these proteins by their sequence features allows for finding potential allergenic proteins from sequenced plant genomes, a field of study dubbed "allergenomics".[6]

  1. ^ Loon LC (1985). "Pathogenesis-related proteins". Plant Molecular Biology. 4 (2–3): 111–116. doi:10.1007/BF02418757. PMID 24310747. S2CID 37281639.
  2. ^ Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2005). Biology (7th ed). San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings.
  3. ^ Van Huijsduijnen RAMH; Alblas SW; De Rijk RH; Bol JF (1986). "Induction by Salicylic Acid of Pathogenesis-related Proteins and Resistance to Alfalfa Mosaic Virus Infection in Various Plant Species". Journal of General Virology. 67 (10): 2135–2143. doi:10.1099/0022-1317-67-10-2135.
  4. ^ Waters EJ, Shirley NJ, Williams PJ (1996). "Nuisance Proteins of Wine Are Grape Pathogenesis-Related Proteins". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 44 (1): 3–5. doi:10.1021/jf9505584.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference 17allergens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Di Girolamo, F; Muraca, M; Mazzina, O; Lante, I; Dahdah, L (June 2015). "Proteomic applications in food allergy: food allergenomics". Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 15 (3): 259–66. doi:10.1097/ACI.0000000000000160. PMID 25899690. S2CID 751042.