Plant lectins: implications in tolerance and resistance

Lectins are ubiquitous classes of carbohydrate-binding proteins. They serve a wide range of physiological functions in Phyto-organisms. Among many biological significances, they play a crucial role in plant tolerance and resistance against environmental biotic and abiotic challenges. They are a component of the plant's innate immune system and defence mechanism. Lectin-like receptor kinases (Lec-RLK) are essential in stress sensing and saccharide signalling. Their expression can be modulated by various hormonal responses; they can also tweak downstream hormonal pathways or signal the expression of stress-related genes. Other plant lectin families, localized in the vacuole, cytoplasm, and nucleus, could also revamp the response to different stress factors. They participate in the further downstream responses, including the clearance and turnover of accumulated undesired and misfolded nascent proteins triggered by stress, DNA protection, and chromatin modulation. Understanding the genetics, the evolution of gene mechanisms, and the functional roles of Lectins in molecular pathways affecting plant tolerance is essential to reduce the effects of global climate change on food security and the health and well-being of humans. This review will assist in integrating existing knowledge, with a focus on understanding how plant lectins confer adaptation to challenging environmental conditions, ultimately to assist agricultural scientists in breeding plants with greater adaptive capacities.