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The role of strigolactones during plant interactions with the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Strigolactones (SLs) do not influence spore germination or hyphal growth of Fusarium oxysporum. Mutant studies revealed no role for SLs but a role for ethylene signalling in defence against this pathogen in pea.

Strigolactones (SLs) play important roles both inside the plant as a hormone and outside the plant as a rhizosphere signal in interactions with mycorrhizal fungi and parasitic weeds. What is less well understood is any potential role SLs may play in interactions with disease causing microbes such as pathogenic fungi. In this paper we investigate the influence of SLs on the hemibiotrophic pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. pisi both directly via their effects on fungal growth and inside the plant through the use of a mutant deficient in SL. Given that various stereoisomers of synthetic and naturally occuring SLs can display different biological activities, we used (+)-GR24, (−)-GR24 and the naturally occurring SL, (+)-strigol, as well as a racemic mixture of 5-deoxystrigol. As a positive control, we examined the influence of a plant mutant with altered ethylene signalling, ein2, on disease development. We found no evidence that SLs influence spore germination or hyphal growth of Fusarium oxysporum and that, while ethylene signalling influences pea susceptibility to this pathogen, SLs do not.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Arbuscular mycorrhizal

SL:

Strigolactone

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr. Erin McAdam, Dr. Alison Dann, Shelley Urquhart, Claire Frappell, Nikita Lovel, Tracey Winterbottom and Michelle Lang for technical assistance. We thank Dr. Jim Weller (UTAS) for ein2 seed, Dr. Karen Barry (TIA, Tasmania) for useful discussions, Dr. Chris McErlean (University of Sydney) for the kind gift of (+)-GR24 and (−)-GR24 and Steven Abel for the synthesis of the (rac)-5-deoxystrigol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Eloise Foo, Sara N. Blake & James B. Reid

  2. School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 75, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Brendan J. Fisher & Jason A. Smith

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  1. Eloise Foo
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  2. Sara N. Blake
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  3. Brendan J. Fisher
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  4. Jason A. Smith
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  5. James B. Reid
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Correspondence to Eloise Foo.

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A contribution to the special issue on Strigolactones.

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Foo, E., Blake, S.N., Fisher, B.J. et al. The role of strigolactones during plant interactions with the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum . Planta 243, 1387–1396 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2449-3

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