In silico phylogenetic and structural analysis of plant endogenous danger signaling effectors.

The plant innate immune system has two major branches, the pathogen-triggered immunity and the effector-triggered immunity
(ETI). The effectors are molecules released by plant attackers to evade host immunity. In addition to the foreign intruders, plants
possess endogenous instigators produced in response to general cellular injury termed as damage-associated molecular patterns
(DAMPs). In plants, DAMPs or alarmins are released by damaged, stressed, or dying cells following abiotic stress such as
radiation, oxidative and drought stresses. In turn, a cascade of downstream signaling events is initiated leading to the
upregulation of defense or response-related genes. In the present study, we have investigated more thoroughly the conservation
status of the molecular mechanisms implicated in the danger signaling primarily in plants. Towards this direction, we have
performed in silico phylogenetic and structural analyses of the associated biomolecules in taxonomically diverse plant species.
On the basis of our results, the defense mechanisms appear to be largely conserved within the plant kingdom. Of note, the
sequence and/or function of several components of these mechanisms was found to be conserved in animals, as well. At the
same time, the molecules involved in plant defense were found to form a dense protein-protein interaction (PPi) network,
suggesting a crosstalk between the various defense mechanisms to a variety of stresses, like oxidative stress.