Researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study. Using baker's yeast, the researchers discovered that the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) activates fungal genes and proteins associated with phosphate metabolism, a system that is key to growth.
Researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study. Using baker's yeast, the researchers discovered that the plant hormone strigolactone activates fungal genes and proteins associated with phosphate metabolism, a system that is key to growth. This insight into how fungi respond to chemical signals at the molecular level could lead to new strategies for cultivating hardier crops and combating disease-causing fungi.
"As we begin to understand how plants and fungi communicate, we will better understand the complexities of the soil ecosystem, leading to healthier crops and improving our approach to biodiversity," says Shelley Lumba, lead author and assistant professor in the department of cell and systems biology at the University of Toronto.
In other cases, disease-causing fungi can exploit chemical cues to infect crops, sometimes wiping out entire harvests. Understanding this chemical language could also help block such pathogens. The researchers determined that plants release SLs when starved for phosphate, signalling the yeast to change its phosphate uptake.
"The potential impact of this research can improve the lives of so many," says Lumba."It's about healthy soil for a healthy planet."James M. Bradley, Michael Bunsick, George Ly, Bruno Aquino, Flora Zhiqi Wang, Duncan Holbrook-Smith, Shingo Suginoo, Dylan Bradizza, Naoki Kato, Omar As’sadiq, Nina Marsh, Hiroyuki Osada, François-Didier Boyer, Christopher S.P. McErlean, Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Rajagopal Subramaniam, Dario Bonetta, Peter McCourt, Shelley Lumba.
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