Role of ubiquitination in plant innate immunity and pathogen virulence

Plant diseases are a major constraint for stable crop production in the world. Plants are constantly threatened by different pathogens and have developed an array of mechanisms to defend themselves. A growing body of evidence indicates that ubiquitination, which is one of the most important cellular processes for protein modification in eukaryotic organisms, is involved in the regulation of host defense signaling. Pathogens also exploit ubiquitination to block or interfere with plant defenses. Recent studies in a few model plants have demonstrated that ubiquitination plays a critical role in plant-pathogen interactions that lead either to plant resistance or to successful pathogen invasion of the plant host. This review discusses recent findings about the functions of ubiquitination in host defense and pathogen invasion.