Balancing growth and defense: Role of target of rapamycin and SNF1-related protein kinase 1 in stress signaling in plants

Abstract

Plants have to maintain the growth and at the same time need to be vigilant about the imminent threat such as pathogen attack and unfavorable growth conditions. It is been observed that the energy status of the plant is an important determinant of the response to stress factors. The Target Of Rapamycin (TOR) and SNF1-Related Protein Kinase 1 (SnRK1) are serine/threonine kinases that originated early in the eukaryotic evolution, work as energy gauges in all eukaryotic lineages. During favorable growth conditions, the nutrient abundance activates TOR, which promotes growth through activation of general protein translation and cell cycle progression. The stress conditions can severely limit energy production, which can activate SnRK1 signaling. By inhibiting TOR kinase and through other effector proteins, the SnRK1 pathway enables the plants to survive in unfavorable growth conditions. The past decade opened a floodgate of studies regarding TOR and SnRK1 interaction regulating growth-defense trade-offs and stress mitigation. This also opened avenues for the utilization of these pathways for crop improvement. This chapter will succinctly summarize the current knowledge in this field and discuss the future direction of research.