Functional analysis of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in potato under biotic and abiotic stress

Biotic and abiotic stresses are the main constrain of potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) production all over the world. To overcome these hurdles, many techniques and mechanisms have been used for increasing food demand for increasing population. One of such mechanism is mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, which is significance regulators of MAPK pathway under various biotic and abiotic stress conditions in plants. However, the acute role in potato for various biotic and abiotic resistance is not fully understood. In eukaryotes including plants, MAPK transfer information from sensors to responses. In potato, biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as a range of developmental responses including differentiation, proliferation, and cell death in plants, MAPK plays an essential role in transduction of diverse extracellular stimuli. Different biotic and abiotic stress stimuli such as pathogen (bacteria, virus, and fungi, etc.) infections, drought, high and low temperatures, high salinity, and high or low osmolarity are induced by several MAPK cascade and MAPK gene families in potato crop. The MAPK cascade is synchronized by numerous mechanisms, including not only transcriptional regulation but also through posttranscriptional regulation such as protein–protein interactions. In this review, we will discuss the recent detailed functional analysis of certain specific MAPK gene families which are involved in resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses in potato. This study will also provide new insights into functional analysis of various MAPK gene families in biotic and abiotic stress response as well as its possible mechanism.