Following wounding, plants increase production of compounds involved in the repair of the tissue damage and in defense against microorganisms. The phenylpropanoid derivatives include flavonoids and isoflavonoids, coumarins, soluble esters, suberin, lignin, and tannins. The function of these compounds is also diverse. They are not only involved in repair of wounding through production of suberin, lignin and other phenolic compounds, but also in the pigmentation of plants such as flavonoids, and in antibiotic activity such as the isoflavonoid phytoalexins. The objective of this work is to obtain some understanding of the molecular mechanisms of both the physiological deterioration of the roots and the plant-pathogen response in cassava through the isolation and characterization of the genes expressed during the phenylpropanoid metabolism.
Wounding induces the first enzyme of the shikimate pathway in Solanaceae.
Signals and transduction mechanisms for activation of palnt defenses against microbial attack.