Parasitic Worms Stimulate Host NADPH Oxidases to Produce Reactive Oxygen Species That Limit Plant Cell Death and Promote Infection

Plants and animals produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to infection. In plants, ROS not only activate defense responses and promote cell death to limit the spread of pathogens but also restrict the amount of cell death in response to pathogen recognition. Plants also use hormones, such as salicylic acid, to mediate immune responses to infection. However, there are long-lasting biotrophic plant-pathogen interactions, such as the interaction between parasitic nematodes and plant roots during which defense responses are suppressed and root cells are reorganized to specific nurse cell systems. In plants, ROS are primarily generated by plasma membrane-localized NADPH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidases, and loss of NADPH oxidase activity compromises immune responses and cell death.…