Jornal de Fisiologia e Patologia Vegetal

Plant disease resistance

Plant disease resistance protects plants from pathogens in two ways: by pre-formed mechanisms and by infection-induced responses of the immune system. Relative to a disease-susceptible plant, disease resistance is often defined as reduction of pathogen growth on or in the plant, while the term disease tolerance describes plants that exhibit less disease damage despite similar levels of pathogen growth. Disease outcome is determined by the three-way interaction of the pathogen, the plant, and the environmental conditions (an interaction known as the disease triangle).