Chitosan-induced biotic stress tolerance and crosstalk with phytohormones, antioxidants, and other signalling molecules

Abstract

Several polysaccharides augment plant growth and productivity and galvanise defence against pathogens. Such elicitors have ecological superiority over traditional growth regulators, considering their amplified biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioactivity, non-toxicity, ubiquity, and inexpensiveness. Chitosan is a chitin-derived polysaccharide that has recently been spotlighted among plant scientists. Chitosan supports plant growth and development and protects against microbial entities such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, and insects. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of chitosan's antimicrobial and insecticidal potential with recent updates. These effects are further explored with the possibilities of chitosan's active correspondence with phytohormones such as jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), indole acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellic acid (GA). The stress-induced redox shift in cellular organelles could be substantiated by the intricate participation of chitosan with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant metabolism, including hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD). Furthermore, we propose how chitosan could be intertwined with cellular signalling through Ca²⁺, ROS, nitric oxide (NO), transcription factors (TFs), and defensive gene activation.

Keywords: antimicrobial; antioxidants; biopolymer; chitooligosaccharides; chitosan; insecticidal; oxidative stress; phytohormones.