Iron in Plant-pathogen Interactions.

Iron is an essential element for most organisms. As an indispensable co-factor of many enzymes, iron is involved in various crucial metabolic processes, which are required for the survival of plants and pathogens. Conversely, excessive iron produces highly active reactive oxygen species (ROS) that is toxic to the cells of plants and pathogens. Therefore, plants and pathogens have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to modulate iron status at a moderate level for keeping their fitness. In the past decades, many efforts have been offered to reveal these mechanisms, and some progress has been made. In this review, we describe recent advances in understanding the roles of iron in plant-pathogen interactions and propose prospects for future studies.