Unser 10. Leibniz Plant Biochemistry Symposium am 7. und 8. Mai war ein großer Erfolg. Thematisch ging es in diesem Jahr um neue Methoden und Forschungsansätze der Naturstoffchemie. Die exzellenten Vorträge über Wirkstoffe…
Omanische Heilpflanze im Fokus der Phytochemie IPB-Wissenschaftler und Partner aus Dhofar haben jüngst die omanische Heilpflanze Terminalia dhofarica unter die phytochemische Lupe genommen. Die Pflanze ist reich an…
Geschmack ist vorhersagbar: Mit FlavorMiner. FlavorMiner heißt das Tool, das IPB-Chemiker und Partner aus Kolumbien jüngst entwickelt haben. Das Programm kann, basierend auf maschinellem Lernen (KI), anhand der…
Most terrestrial plants form arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), mutualistic associations with soil fungi of the order Glomeromycota. The obligate biotrophic fungi trade mineral nutrients, mainly phosphate (Pi), for carbohydrates from the plants. Under conditions of high exogenous phosphate supply, when the plant can meet its own P requirements without the fungus, AM are suppressed, an effect which could be interpreted as an active strategy of the plant to limit carbohydrate consumption of the fungus by inhibiting its proliferation in the roots. However, the mechanisms involved in fungal inhibition are poorly understood. Here, we employ a transcriptomic approach to get insight into potential shifts in metabolic activity and symbiotic signalling, and in the defence status of plants exposed to high Pi levels. We show that in mycorrhizal roots of petunia, a similar set of symbiosis‐related genes is expressed as in mycorrhizal roots of Medicago, Lotus and rice. Pi acts systemically to repress symbiotic gene expression and AM colonization in the root. In established mycorrhizal roots, Pi repressed symbiotic gene expression rapidly, whereas the inhibition of colonization followed with a lag of more than a week. Taken together, these results suggest that Pi acts by repressing essential symbiotic genes, in particular genes encoding enzymes of carotenoid and strigolactone biosynthesis, and symbiosis‐associated phosphate transporters. The role of these effects in the suppression of symbiosis under high Pi conditions is discussed.