Lipid-derived jasmonates (JAs) play a crucial role in a variety of plant development and defense mechanisms. In recent years, significant progress has been made toward understanding the JA signaling pathway. In this review, we discuss JA biosynthesis, as well as its core signaling pathway, termination mechanisms, and the evolutionary origin of JA signaling. JA regulates not only plant regeneration, reproductive growth, and vegetative growth but also the responses of plants to stresses, including pathogen as well as virus infection, herbivore attack, and abiotic stresses. We also focus on the JA signaling pathway, considering its crosstalk with the gibberellin (GA), auxin, and phytochrome signaling pathways for mediation of the trade-offs between growth and defense. In summary, JA signals regulate multiple outputs of plant defense and growth and act to balance growth and defense in order to adapt to complex environments.

Plant pathogens are one of the main factors hindering the breeding of cash crops. Pathogens, including oomycetes, fungus, and bacteria, secrete effectors as invasion weapons to successfully invade and propagate in host plants. Here, we review recent advances made in the field of plant-pathogen interaction models and the action mechanisms of phytopathogenic effectors. The review illustrates how effectors from different species use similar and distinct strategies to infect host plants. We classify the main action mechanisms of effectors in plant-pathogen interactions according to the infestation process: targeting physical barriers for disruption, creating conditions conducive to infestation, protecting or masking themselves, interfering with host cell physiological activity, and manipulating plant downstream immune responses. The investigation of the functioning of plant pathogen effectors contributes to improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms of plant-pathogen interactions. This understanding has important theoretical value and is of practical significance in plant pathology and disease resistance genetics and breeding.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most serious health problems worldwide. Species in the genus Polygonatum are traditional food and medicinal plants, which play an important role in controlling blood glucose. In this reveiw, we systematically summarized the traditional and modern applications of the genus Polygonatum in DM, focused on the material bases of polysaccharides, flavonoids and saponins. We highlighted their mechanisms of action in preventing obese diabetes, improving insulin resistance, promoting insulin secretion, regulating intestinal microecology, inhibiting advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulation, suppressing carbohydrate digestion and obsorption and modulating gluconeogenesis. Based on the safety and efficacy of this 'medicinal food' and its utility in the prevention and treatment of diabetes, we proposed a research and development program that includs diet design (supplementary food), medical nutrition therapy and new drugs, which could provide new pathways for the use of natural plants in prevention and treatment of DM.