Editorial: Investigating the elements of plant defense mechanisms within plant immune responses against pathogens, volume II

The inherent connection of plants with their growth habitats where they "conceive" offspring and release its new generation imposes a constant pressure to interact with various environmental factors, including those that are pathogenic or pest-related (Jian et al., 2023). Therefore, plants need to develop or enhance defense mechanisms to sustain their existence. The coordinated multi-layered defense system includes early physiological response, rapid activation of defense enzymes, substantial accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and swift and robust activation of transcriptional reprogramming to develop resistance (Liu et al.;Haghpanah et al., 2025) or control the interacting microorganisms during symbiotic interactions. Various types of pathogens, including viruses (Shang et al.; Zhao et al.; Choi; Kan and Citovsky), bacteria (Liu ; Yue et al.), fungi (Abdelghany et al.; Talmo and Ranjan; Maravilha et al.; Wu et al.), and pest insects (Xie et al.), as well as symbiotic microorganisms (Aseel et al.) significantly influence plant growth and crop productivity (Lei et al.; Sun et al.) by inducing direct/indirect changes in plant metabolism and structure. This situation highlights the need to continually enhance our understanding of the complex interaction network of symbiotic/pathogenic organisms with plants, particularly because plants sustain life on Earth and serve as a primary food source for the world's population (Otulak-Kozieł et al., 2024). This Research topic was aimed to elucidate the implications of understanding how pathogens change adaptive mechanisms to infect plants or how plants develop diverse resistance; furthermore, it explores how antimicrobial or chemical treatments can be utilized to enhance plant resilience. Maravilha et al. showed that Lathyrus sativus utilizes complex molecular interactions and defense mechanisms against Erysiphe pisi, underscoring the genetic diversity in pathogen response across accessions with contrasting resistance levels. The authors identified novel targets such as NOD-like receptors (NLRs) and effectors, antifungal proteins, and cell wall reinforcement-related genes that participate in the complex L. sativus-E. pisi interaction; this finding could support future breeding programs aimed at enhancing the resistance of L. sativus and related species to E. pisi. The author(s) declared that financial support was not received for this work and/or its publication. 122All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent 127 those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any 128 product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not 129 guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.The author(s) declared that generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. 132Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by 133Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure 134 accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible. If you identify any issues, please 135 contact us. 136 6