Silicon's Role in Abiotic and Biotic Plant Stresses

Corresponding author: Fabrício A. Rodrigues; Lawrence E. Datnoff (路易斯安娜州立大学农业中心)

Silicon (Si) plays a pivotal role in the nutritional status (营养状况) of a wide variety of monocot and dicot plant species and helps them, whether directly or indirectly, counteract (抵消) abiotic and/or biotic stresses. In general, plants with a high root or shoot Si concentration are less prone to pest attack (虫害) and exhibit enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought, low temperature, or metal toxicity (金属毒性). However, the most remarkable effect of Si is the reduction in the intensities (强度) of a number of seed borne (种子传播), soilborne (土壤传播), and foliar (叶的) diseases in many economically important crops that are caused by biotrophic (活体营养的), hemibiotrophic, and necrotrophic (死体营养的) plant pathogens. The reduction in disease symptom (病症) expression is due to the effect of Si on some components of host resistance (寄生抗性), including incubation period (潜伏期), lesion (感染伤口) size, and lesion number. The mechanical barrier (机械屏障) formed by the polymerization (聚合) of Si beneath the cuticle (表皮) and in the cell walls was the first proposed hypothesis to explain how this element reduced the severity of plant diseases. However, new insights have revealed that many plant species supplied with Si have the phenylpropanoid (苯丙素) and terpenoid pathways potentiated (增强) and have a faster and stronger transcription of defense genes and higher activities of defense enzymes. Photosynthesis (光合作用) and the antioxidant system (抗氧化系统) are also improved for Si-supplied plants. Although the current understanding of how this overlooked element improves plant reaction against pathogen infections, pest attacks, and abiotic stresses has advanced, the exact mechanism(s) by which it modulates plant physiology through the potentiation of host defense mechanisms still needs further investigation at the genomic, metabolomic, and proteomic levels.

通讯：James J. Giovannoni (http://www.lsu.edu/agriculture/plant/about/faculty-staff/datnoff.php)

个人简介：1976年，乔治亚大学园艺与植物病理学，学士；1981年，V. P. I. & S. U.植物病理，硕士；1985年，伊利诺伊大学植物病理学，博士。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-080516-035312

（P.S. 欢迎访问个人博客：https://plantfrontiers.wordpress.com）