The primary objective of this study was to identify the molecular signals present in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) germinated spore exudates (GSEs) responsible for activating nuclear Ca2+ spiking in ...the Medicago truncatula root epidermis.
Medicago truncatula root organ cultures (ROCs) expressing a nuclear-localized cameleon reporter were used as a bioassay to detect AM-associated Ca2+ spiking responses and LC-MS to characterize targeted molecules in GSEs.
This approach has revealed that short-chain chitin oligomers (COs) can mimic AM GSE-elicited Ca2+ spiking, with maximum activity observed for CO4 and CO5. This spiking response is dependent on genes of the common SYM signalling pathway (DMI1/DMI2) but not on NFP, the putative Sinorhizobium meliloti Nod factor receptor. A major increase in the CO4/5 concentration in fungal exudates is observed when Rhizophagus irregularis spores are germinated in the presence of the synthetic strigolactone analogue GR24. By comparison with COs, both sulphated and nonsulphated Myc lipochito-oligosaccharides (LCOs) are less efficient elicitors of Ca2+ spiking in M. truncatula ROCs.
We propose that short-chain COs secreted by AM fungi are part of a molecular exchange with the host plant and that their perception in the epidermis leads to the activation of a SYM-dependent signalling pathway involved in the initial stages of fungal root colonization.
Environmental cues profoundly modulate cell proliferation and cell elongation to inform and direct plant growth and development. External phosphate (Pi) limitation inhibits primary root growth in ...many plant species. However, the underlying Pi sensory mechanisms are unknown. Here we genetically uncouple two Pi sensing pathways in the root apex of Arabidopsis thaliana. First, the rapid inhibition of cell elongation in the transition zone is controlled by transcription factor STOP1, by its direct target, ALMT1, encoding a malate channel, and by ferroxidase LPR1, which together mediate Fe and peroxidase-dependent cell wall stiffening. Second, during the subsequent slow inhibition of cell proliferation in the apical meristem, which is mediated by LPR1-dependent, but largely STOP1-ALMT1-independent, Fe and callose accumulate in the stem cell niche, leading to meristem reduction. Our work uncovers STOP1 and ALMT1 as a signalling pathway of low Pi availability and exuded malate as an unexpected apoplastic inhibitor of root cell wall expansion.
The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis associates soil fungi with the roots of the majority of plants species and represents a major source of soil phosphorus acquisition. Mycorrhizal interactions ...begin with an exchange of molecular signals between the two partners. A root signaling pathway is recruited, for which the perception of fungal signals triggers oscillations of intracellular calcium concentration. High phosphate availability is known to inhibit the establishment and/or persistence of this symbiosis, thereby favoring the direct, non-symbiotic uptake of phosphorus by the root system. In this study, Medicago truncatula plants were used to investigate the effects of phosphate supply on the early stages of the interaction. When plants were supplied with high phosphate fungal attachment to the roots was drastically reduced. An experimental system was designed to individually study the effects of phosphate supply on the fungus, on the roots, and on root exudates. These experiments revealed that the most important effects of high phosphate supply were on the roots themselves, which became unable to host mycorrhizal fungi even when these had been appropriately stimulated. The ability of the roots to perceive their fungal partner was then investigated by monitoring nuclear calcium spiking in response to fungal signals. This response did not appear to be affected by high phosphate supply. In conclusion, high levels of phosphate predominantly impact the plant host, but apparently not in its ability to perceive the fungal partner.
Most plants form root symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which provide them with phosphate and other nutrients. High soil phosphate levels are known to affect AM symbiosis negatively, ...but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. This report describes experimental conditions which triggered a novel mycorrhizal phenotype under high phosphate supply: the interaction between pea and two different AM fungi was almost completely abolished at a very early stage, prior to the formation of hyphopodia. As demonstrated by split-root experiments, down-regulation of AM symbiosis occurred at least partly in response to plant-derived signals. Early signalling events were examined with a focus on strigolactones, compounds which stimulate pre-symbiotic fungal growth and metabolism. Strigolactones were also recently identified as novel plant hormones contributing to the control of shoot branching. Root exudates of plants grown under high phosphate lost their ability to stimulate AM fungi and lacked strigolactones. In addition, a systemic down-regulation of strigolactone release by high phosphate supply was demonstrated using split-root systems. Nevertheless, supplementation with exogenous strigolactones failed to restore root colonization under high phosphate. This observation does not exclude a contribution of strigolactones to the regulation of AM symbiosis by phosphate, but indicates that they are not the only factor involved. Together, the results suggest the existence of additional early signals that may control the differentiation of hyphopodia.
The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is a mutualistic association between soil fungi (Glomeromycota) and roots of most plant species. A recent study showed that high phosphate fertilization ...could inhibit mycorrhizal colonization at a very early stage, before hyphopodium formation. The authors proposed that inhibiting and/or stimulatory compounds might be present in roots grown under high phosphate or low phosphate, respectively. To further address this question, we performed metabolite profiling analyses of extracts of pea roots grown under low and high phosphate concentrations. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) was coupled with high resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (Q-TOF) and multivariate statistical analysis. This allowed the detection of 34 ions discriminating the two conditions. A majority (28 ions) were more abundant in roots grown under low phosphate concentration, and among them four were specific of this condition. The results suggest that the regulation of AM symbiosis by phosphate may involve the synthesis or accumulation of stimulatory compounds in roots grown under low phosphate.
Root architecture varies widely between species; it even varies between ecotypes of the same species, despite strong conservation of the coding portion of their genomes. By contrast, noncoding RNAs ...evolve rapidly between ecotypes and may control their differential responses to the environment, since several long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to quantitatively regulate gene expression. Roots from ecotypes Columbia and Landsberg
of Arabidopsis (
) respond differently to phosphate starvation. Here, we compared transcriptomes (mRNAs, lncRNAs, and small RNAs) of root tips from these two ecotypes during early phosphate starvation. We identified thousands of lncRNAs that were largely conserved at the DNA level in these ecotypes. In contrast to coding genes, many lncRNAs were specifically transcribed in one ecotype and/or differentially expressed between ecotypes independent of phosphate availability. We further characterized these ecotype-related lncRNAs and studied their link with small interfering RNAs. Our analysis identified 675 lncRNAs differentially expressed between the two ecotypes, including antisense RNAs targeting key regulators of root-growth responses. Misregulation of several lincRNAs showed that at least two ecotype-related lncRNAs regulate primary root growth in ecotype Columbia. RNA-sequencing analysis following deregulation of lncRNA NPC48 revealed a potential link with root growth and transport functions. This exploration of the noncoding transcriptome identified ecotype-specific lncRNA-mediated regulation in root apexes. The noncoding genome may harbor further mechanisms involved in ecotype adaptation of roots to different soil environments.
Thousands of lncRNAs with ecotype-specific expression, including two that likely regulate primary root growth, are potentially linked to the evolution of regulatory mechanisms among ecotypes.
Root ...architecture varies widely between species; it even varies between ecotypes of the same species, despite strong conservation of the coding portion of their genomes. By contrast, noncoding RNAs evolve rapidly between ecotypes and may control their differential responses to the environment, since several long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to quantitatively regulate gene expression. Roots from ecotypes Columbia and Landsberg
erecta
of Arabidopsis (
Arabidopsis thaliana
) respond differently to phosphate starvation. Here, we compared transcriptomes (mRNAs, lncRNAs, and small RNAs) of root tips from these two ecotypes during early phosphate starvation. We identified thousands of lncRNAs that were largely conserved at the DNA level in these ecotypes. In contrast to coding genes, many lncRNAs were specifically transcribed in one ecotype and/or differentially expressed between ecotypes independent of phosphate availability. We further characterized these ecotype-related lncRNAs and studied their link with small interfering RNAs. Our analysis identified 675 lncRNAs differentially expressed between the two ecotypes, including antisense RNAs targeting key regulators of root-growth responses. Misregulation of several lincRNAs showed that at least two ecotype-related lncRNAs regulate primary root growth in ecotype Columbia. RNA-sequencing analysis following deregulation of lncRNA NPC48 revealed a potential link with root growth and transport functions. This exploration of the noncoding transcriptome identified ecotype-specific lncRNA-mediated regulation in root apexes. The noncoding genome may harbor further mechanisms involved in ecotype adaptation of roots to different soil environments.
Summary
The primary objective of this study was to identify the molecular signals present in arbuscular mycorrhizal (
AM
) germinated spore exudates (
GSE
s) responsible for activating nuclear
C
a
2+
...spiking in the
M
edicago truncatula
root epidermis.
Medicago truncatula
root organ cultures (
ROC
s) expressing a nuclear‐localized cameleon reporter were used as a bioassay to detect
AM
‐associated
C
a
2+
spiking responses and
LC
‐
MS
to characterize targeted molecules in
GSE
s.
This approach has revealed that short‐chain chitin oligomers (
CO
s) can mimic
AM GSE
‐elicited
C
a
2+
spiking, with maximum activity observed for
CO
4 and
CO
5. This spiking response is dependent on genes of the common
SYM
signalling pathway (
DMI
1
/
DMI
2
) but not on
NFP
, the putative
S
inorhizobium meliloti
N
od factor receptor. A major increase in the
CO
4/5 concentration in fungal exudates is observed when
R
hizophagus irregularis
spores are germinated in the presence of the synthetic strigolactone analogue
GR
24. By comparison with
CO
s, both sulphated and nonsulphated
M
yc lipochito‐oligosaccharides (
LCO
s) are less efficient elicitors of
C
a
2+
spiking in
M
. truncatula
ROC
s.
We propose that short‐chain
CO
s secreted by
AM
fungi are part of a molecular exchange with the host plant and that their perception in the epidermis leads to the activation of a
SYM
‐dependent signalling pathway involved in the initial stages of fungal root colonization.
La majorité des plantes terrestres forment une symbiose racinaire avec des champignons mycorhiziens à arbuscules (MA). Les champignons fournissent à la plante de l'eau et des minéraux en particulier ...du phosphate (Pi), en échange les plantes leur apportent des éléments carbonés. La fertilisation phosphatée est connue pour inhiber l'interaction symbiotique, mais les mécanismes intervenant dans cette régulation sont inconnus. Nous avons montré que le Pi est capable d'inhiber presque totalement la mycorhization à un stade très précoce, avant même l'attachement du champignon à la surface de l'épiderme racinaire. Cette inhibition est liée aux teneurs en Pi dans les parties aériennes et fait intervenir une signalisation systémique. Par la suite, nous avons cherché à identifier les mécanismes impliqués dans la régulation de la mycorhization par le Pi. Les évènements précoces d'interaction ont été examinés avec un intérêt marqué pour les exsudats racinaires. Tout d'abord, nous avons analysé l'importance des strigolactones dans la régulation. Ces molécules sont sécrétées par les racines des plantes et stimulent le développement des champignons (MA). La production de strigolactones est elle aussi régulée de façon systémique par le Pi et les exsudats végétaux de plantes non carencés en Pi sont dépourvus de strigolactones. Cependant, un ajout exogène de ces molécules ne suffit pas pour lever l'inhibition associée à la présence de Pi. De plus, la part des exsudats végétaux en général dans cette régulation a été étudiée. Bien que les exsudats jouent un rôle pour favoriser (ou non) la mise en place de l'interaction, des mécanismes de contrôle supplémentaires existent au niveau de la racine elle-même. Parmi plusieurs mécanismes régulateurs hypothétiques nous avons testé si le Pi pouvait affecter la capacité des plantes à reconnaitre correctement leurs partenaires fongiques. Pour cela nous avons utilisé deux approches. (i) Il est connu que les racines répondent à la présence de champignon par des oscillations de concentrations en calcium dans les noyaux. Nous n'avons pas trouvé d'effet du Pi sur cette réponse. (ii) Nous avons aussi analysé si l'expression de gènes végétaux en réponse au champignon pouvait être régulée par le Pi. Quelle que soit la condition phosphatée testée, les plantes sont capables de répondre à la présence de champignon par l'induction de gènes de défense et de gènes " symbiotiques ". Cependant, le Pi affecte négativement l'expression de certains des gènes symbiotiques, laissant penser que les plantes seraient moins à même de répondre au champignon lorsqu'il y a du Pi. Pour finir, d'autres mécanismes de régulation possibles (tels que la composition des parois ou un effet hormonal des strigolactones) sont proposés et discutés.
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