Hypersensitive cell death in plants : its mechanisms and role in plant defense against pathogens

This review is a recent update in the understanding of the hypersensitive response (HR) of plants with special consideration to the physiological and biochemical determinants in different model systems. Hypersensitive response is reviewed as a form of programmed cell death (PCD) representing one of the mechanisms of plant defence against diseases. Major signalling pathways and molecules that accompany the HR, such as proteolytic cascades, oxidative events and ethylene that are supposed to play a key role in the plant?s cell death machinery are discussed. Special attention is paid to the HR in fruit species. Studies on plant PCD are shown to provide a clue to better understanding disease resistance processes in plants and to establish the evolutionary aspects of PCD similarities through animal and plant kingdoms.