Wound-induced small-peptide-mediated signaling cascade, regulated by OsPSKR, dictates balance between growth and defense in rice.

Wounding is a general stress in plants that results from various pest and pathogenic infections in addition to environment-induced mechanical damages. Plants have sophisticated molecular mechanisms to recognize and respond to wounding, with those of monocots being distinct from dicots. Here, we show the involvement of two distinct categories of temporally separated, endogenously derived peptides, namely, plant elicitor peptides (PEPs) and phytosulfokine (PSK), mediating wound responses in rice.

Begomoviral βC1 orchestrates organellar genomic instability to augment viral infection.

Chloroplast is the site for transforming light energy to chemical energy. It also acts as a production unit for a variety of defense-related molecules. These defense moieties are necessary to mount a successful counter defense against pathogens, including viruses.