A team of researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK, The
University of Western Australia, the University Jaume I in Spain and Utrecht
University in The Netherlands has uncovered a mechanism which allows plants
to better defend themselves against disease causing pathogens.

The research team identified the key receptor binding a chemical called BABA
(â-aminobutyric acid), which is boosting plant immunity. BABA has long been
known for its protective effects against devastating plant diseases, but it
has not been widely used because of its undesirable side effects. They found
the plant receptor binding BABA is an 'aspartyl tRNA synthetase' (IBI1), a
class of enzymes playing an important role in primary metabolism of all
cells, but had never been linked to immune responses in plants. According to
team leader Dr. Estrella Luna, binding of the chemical to this protein
triggers a secondary function that primes the plant immune system against
future attacks by pests and diseases. The study also revealed that the
undesirable side effect of reduction in growth can be uncoupled from the
beneficial immune reaction.

[www.news.uwa.edu.au]