SWITZERLAND – A multi-national group of researchers has suggested mimicking vaccination strategy for humans in plants to induce resistance against diseases.
Like a vaccination to humans, it deliberately triggers a plant’s immune system, so that when the plant encounters a similar stress in the future, it fights back better.
Induced resistance is not without its complexities; however. And while it is a long-lasting solution, it is not a solo one—additional strategies are necessary to make it work. Still, the idea is sustainable and resilient amid a growing and changing world.
Currently, crops are mostly protected through the use of pesticides and breeding for resistance genes. While these strategies are effective, they are also associated with negative effects.
Pesticides can have harmful environmental effects and have been blamed for the colony collapse disorder that wiped out millions of bees, and they are known to make their way into bodies of water via runoff.
Additionally, much like the problem of antibiotic-resistance for humans, crops and pests can and have become resistant to some pesticides.
In recent years, consumers are more concerned with food production system and have put more value into “organic” food, negatively affecting crops grown on farms that use pesticides as well as those genetically modified for resistance and other genes.
Resistance to GM crops have sprouted and even escalated to movements that are lobbying for the ban of this type of crops.
Once induced resistance is implemented, the researchers said it could do more than just ward off pests. Some of the defense compounds that plants produce in response to induced resistance are linked to health benefits or higher-quality nutrition.
This means humans could avoid pesticides as well as grow healthier food from the start. Induced resistance is also faster than traditional breeding, offering a quicker way to adapt to changing climatic conditions.
According to the scientists, induced resistance enhances abilities a plant already has to provide more sustainable and potentially broader-spectrum protection: defending against several pathogens and pests, not just one.
While there are several types, defense priming is the most popular type of induced resistance. Just like a human vaccine, defense priming occurs when part of a plant experiences stress.
This weakly activates defense mechanisms that then fully come to life when the plant undergoes a real attack.
Accordingly, defense priming can actually appear in the next generation of plants—potentially transmitted via epigenetic mechanisms.
However, induced resistance is not as easy as it seams, which lead author of Frontiers in Science , Brigitte Mauch-Mani, professor at the University of Neuchâtel said that is not as straightforward as the introgression of a single gene or spraying a single pesticide.
He added they will need case-by-case evaluation of the optimal growth conditions, crop germplasm, and agricultural practices to capitalize on induced resistance’s multifaceted benefits.