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Small GTPase ‘Rop’: molecular switch for plant defense responses
Author(s) -
Agrawal Ganesh K.,
Iwahashi Hitoshi,
Rakwal Randeep
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(03)00646-x
Subject(s) - gtpase , cdc42 , hypersensitive response , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate , regulator , signal transduction , rac gtp binding proteins , plant defense against herbivory , small gtpase , gtpase activating protein , programmed cell death , rac1 , biochemistry , oxidase test , g protein , gene , enzyme , apoptosis
The conserved Rho family of GTPases (Rho, Rac, and Cdc42) in fungi and mammals has emerged as a key regulator of diverse cellular activities, such as cytoskeletal rearrangements, programmed cell death, stress‐induced signaling, and cell growth and differentiation. In plants, a unique class of Rho‐like proteins, most closely related to mammalian Rac, has only been found and termed ‘Rop’ (Rho‐related GTPase from plant [Li et al. (1998) Plant Physiol. 118, 407–417; Yang (2002) Plant Cell 14, S375–S388]). ROPs have been implicated in regulating various plant cellular responses including defense against pathogens. It has been shown that ROPs, like mammalian Rac, trigger hydrogen peroxide production and hence the ‘oxidative burst’, a crucial component associated with the cell death, most likely via activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous species. Recent studies have established that ROPs also function as a molecular switch for defense signaling pathway(s) linked with disease resistance. As discerning the defense pathway remains one of the priority research areas in the field of plant biology, this review is therefore particularly focused on recent progresses that have been made towards understanding the plant defense responses mediated by ROPs.