Review: Linking autophagy to abiotic and biotic stress responses (Trends Plant Sci)($)

Autophagy means “self-eating” in ancient Greek. It’s a process in which cellular components are delivered to lytic vacuoles to be reused. This recycling process promotes abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. In this review, Signorelli et al. highlight in detail plant autophagy in abiotic and biotic stress responses and how these responses are triggered to affect autophagy and its signaling pathway. The energy sensors, SNF-related kinase 1 (SnRK1) and target of rapamycin (TOR), as well as abscisic acid (ABA) and its signaling kinase SnRK2 play key roles in the regulation of autophagy under stress conditions. Furthermore, the contribution of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the establishment of autophagy, the importance of osmotic adjustment, and the role of GABA in plant survival are discussed. Determining the interplay between autophagy and coordinated pathways under various stresses will help researchers to develop novel strategies to improve plant breeding under the threaten of stresses. (Summary by Jin Liao) Trends Plant Sci. 110.1016/j.tplants.2019.02.001