Progress and prospects of glucosinolate pathogen resistance in some brassica plants

Plants are constantly defending themselves against an array of assaults by pathogenic organisms. This has led to the evolution of precise and elaborate chemical defense systems involving glucosinolates (GSLs) in cruciferous plants. These GSLs and their hydrolysis products are biologically active and are implicated as enabling formidable plant defense processes in certain economically important members of Brassicaceae like broccoli, cabbage and mustard seed. This review provides a comprehensive report of how indole and aliphatic GSLs mitigate incidents of plant pathogenesis. By evaluating the roles of GSLs in plant-pathogen interaction of some brassica plants, this review highlights the associated mechanism that culminates in disease suppression. Moreover, seven economically important brassica pathogens were reviewed in terms of their ability to disrupt proper plant functioning as well as the mechanisms by which GSLs and their hydrolysis products in Brassica lower the susceptibility to them. Future perspectives of the application of GSLs in plant pathogen resistance using advanced molecular techniques are also discussed