Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule involved in numerous physiological processes in
both animals and plants. The bioactivity of NO is mainly transduced via post-translational modification
of cysteine residues of proteins termed S-nitrosylation. Interestingly, a number of key regulatory
components in plant defense responses have been found to be regulated by S-nitrosylation making this
type of protein modification an important modulator of plant immunity. As a signaling molecule, NO
intimately interact with other important molecules such as reactive oxygen species. Since the
identification of NO in plants, increasing number of papers isbeing published in the area of NO biology
each year. Here, a collection of papers describing the role of NO in plant immunity has been brought
together to provide a bird's-eye view on the focus area.
Herbicides are inevitable inputs to control excessive weed in crop land, particularly where modern agricultural practices such as conservation tillage, are opted. Intensive farming has increased the market value of herbicides among the other pesticides. Although herbicides are effective in controlling weed population, administration of this synthetic chemicals may alter the soil microbial community causing potential increase of plant pathogens. Moreover, herbicides may also have nontarget effects on the cultivated crops making them more susceptible to diseases. Actions of herbicides in soil that either stimulate microbial growth or wipe out some microbial population may create space for the thrivial of opportunistic fungi. Previous studies showed that white rot fungi are more tolerant to herbicides as they produce lignin degrading enzymes that are highly oxidative, non-specific and are able to transform a wide range of herbicides. Besides that, this group of fungi can grow on agricultural waste substrates. Influence of these herbicides on soil microbial ecosystem and interactions of plants and pathogenic white rot fungi modulate disease development in plant hosts.