Activation of defence reactions in Solanaceae: where is the specificity?

When a potential pathogen attempts to infect a plant, biochemical and molecular communication takes place and leads to the induction of plant defence mechanisms. In the case of efficient defence, visible symptoms are restricted and the pathogen does not multiply (incompatible interaction); when defence is inefficient, the plant becomes rapidly infected (compatible interaction). During the last 30 years, a growing body of knowledge on plant-pathogen interactions has been gathered, and a large number of studies investigate the induction of various plant defence reactions by pathogens or by pathogen-derived compounds. However, as most papers focus on incompatible interactions, there is still a lack of understanding about the similarities and differences between compatible and incompatible situations. This review targets the question of specificity in Solanaceae-pathogen interactions, by comparing defence patterns in plants challenged with virulent or avirulent pathogens (or with pathogen-associated molecular patterns from these). A special emphasis is made on analysing whether defence reactions in Solanaceae depend primarily on the type of elicitor, on the plant genotype/species, or on the type of interaction (compatible or incompatible).