Very long chain fatty acid and lipid signaling in the response of plants to pathogens

Recent findings indicate that lipid signaling is essential for plant resistance to pathogens. Besides oxylipins and unsaturated fatty acids known to play important signaling functions during plant-pathogen interactions, the very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) biosynthesis pathway has been recently associated to plant defense through different aspects. VLCFAs are indeed required for the biosynthesis of the plant cuticle and the generation of sphingolipids. Elucidation of the roles of these lipids in biotic stress responses is the result of the use of genetic approaches together with the identification of the genes/proteins involved in their biosynthesis. This review focuses on recent observations which revealed the complex function of the cuticle and cuticle-derived signals, and the key role of sphingolipids as bioactive molecules involved in signal transduction and cell death regulation during plant-pathogen interactions.