Immune Surveillance Similarities In Animals And Plants

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Genetics
Article Date: 01 Feb 2008 - 5:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

A recent article published in Developmental and Comparative Immunology (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devcompimm), the official journal of the International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology (ISDCI), draws attention to the fact that the plant immune system is not restricted to a fixed set of broad spectrum responses - rather, it is flexible, resilient, and possesses elements of specificity and responsiveness to disease causing agents. Properties quite reminiscent of those of immunity in animals.

All multicellular organisms are in an arms-race against the vast armies of rapidly mutating microbial pathogens that are seeking access to their rich stores of nutrients. The challenges for the organism are two-fold. First to develop appropriate immune defense molecules, and second to generate the diversity needed to combat a rapidly changing pathogen population. Immunologists have had much success in determining the varied means by which animals accomplish this, but this integrated vision of immunity generally does not stray across the line that divides animals from plants.

However, it is obvious that plants can resist many infectious disease agents very effectively, and in their article John McDowell and Stacey Simon from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, USA (Developmental and Comparative Immunology, doi:10.1016/j.dci.2007.11.005) review the multiple lines of defense that plants use against pathogenic microbes. Preliminary evidence leads them to conclude that the rate at which diversification occurs in the plant immune surveillance genes is stimulated by the presence of pathogens, a new and intriguing aspect of plant immunity.

"I have followed plant immunity research for quite some time and have seen the progress in this area. It is important to publish this article in our journal because it provides a very exciting immunological insight", said Kenneth Söderhäll, one of the Editors-in-Chief of the ISDCI journal.

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

About ISDCI

The International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology (ISDCI) serves to bring together research workers worldwide by fostering and maintaining international scientific cooperation and communication between individual scientists, regional groups and/or national societies interested in the study of developmental and comparative immunology. These objectives are advanced through international congresses every three years, sporadic smaller meetings and workshops, and by means of a periodical Newsletter (http://www.isdci.org/).

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.isdci.org/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Source: Floris de Hon
Elsevier