Tannin degradation by phytopathogen's tannase: A Plant's defense perspective

Tannins are plant secondary metabolites and characterized as plant defensive molecules. They impose a barrier against phytopathogens invasion in plants and thus oppose diseases occurrence in them. Tannase is an enzyme known for its ability to degrade plant tannins. Important plant pathogens also possess tannase coding sequence in their genome. Researches on tannase are till date focused on its applications in animal nutrition, in bioremediation and in food industries etc. The information about tannase role with respect to pathogen's virulence is very scanty or almost nil in scientific literature. The presence of tannase in pathogen's genome is an adaptive feature which may be a part of its strategy to overcome the negative effects of plants tannins. The present review summarizes important aspects of tannase and its possible role in disease causing ability of pathogens in plants.