NAC transcription factors in plant immunity

The NAC (NAM, ATAF and CUC) family is one of the largest plant-specific transcription factor (TF) families. Members of this family are implicated in plant growth, development and stress responses. Recent functional studies demonstrate that a number of NAC TFs function as positive or negative regulators of plant immunity to biotrophic, hemibiotrophic or necotrophic pathogens, as modulators of the hypersensitive responses and stomatal immunity or as virulence targets of pathogen effectors. They affect plant immunity through their regulatory impact on signaling of plant hormones, which in turn are key players in plant immune responses. This review summarizes current knowledge and recent progress in our understanding of the biological functions of NAC TFs in plant immunity and discusses perspectives and directions for further study to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of NAC TF functions in immunity and potential application in improvement of crop disease resistance.