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Potential Application of Chitin Signaling in Engineering Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance to Fungal and Bacterial Pathogens in Plants

Jinrong Wan and Genevieve Pentecost

Chitin, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is an important structural component in the cell walls of fungal pathogens. Plant chitinases are capable of degrading this component to directly inhibit infection by fungal pathogens. Plants can further detect the chitin fragments released by chitinases to trigger additional defense responses. Recent studies have identified chitin receptors in different plant species and a number of downstream signaling components. The chitin-mediated signal transduction pathway appears to be a unique and promising target for engineering plants for broad-spectrum resistance to various fungal as well as bacterial pathogens.