Abstract
A proteinaceous elicitor, cryptogein induces hypersensitive response-like programmed cell death (PCD) in tobacco BY-2 cells. Effects of various protease inhibitors on this PCD were tested. Several kind of protease inhibitors significantly inhibited the PCD. Some of them were shown to inhibit early steps of the PCD signaling. Possible involvement of proteases in the elicitor-induced PCD will be discussed.