Abstract:

Lipoxygenase (LOX) catalyzes the oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids to further produce oxylipins via the enzymatic or non-enzymatic pathway, thereby participating in the processes of regulation of growth and development, and stress response. To deeply understand the function and mechanism of LOX for plants under stress conditions, this study summarizes recent research progress on the functions of LOX in biotic and abiotic stress responses in such model plants and crops as Arabidopsis thaliana and corn; reveals functions of LOX family members in response to abiotic (e.g., mechanical wounding, drought, and salt stress) and biotic stress (e.g., Verticillium wilt, Aspergillus flavus infection, nematode invasion, and aphid bite); analyzes how these members share out the work and cooperate with one another, and even antagonize each other during the stress response, along with the “cross-talk” between 13-LOX pathway and 9-LOX pathway; and points out that LOX activity and regulation of transcriptional expression are important parts of regulation of oxylipin synthesis and stress responses, as well as potential targets for genetic improvement of crops. The expression regulation and mechanism of LOX, and the identification and detailed study of a series of downstream metabolites in the lipoxygenase pathway will be research focuses in this field in the future.

Key words: lipoxygenase, jasmonic acid, abiotic stress, biotic stress, genetic improvement