Root Exudates of Stressed Plants Stimulate and Attract Trichoderma Soil Fungi

Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2018 Oct;31(10):982-994. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-12-17-0310-R. Epub 2018 Aug 21.

Abstract

Plant roots release complex mixtures of bioactive molecules, including compounds that affect the activity and modify the composition of the rhizosphere microbiome. In this work, we investigated the initial phase of the interaction between tomato and an effective biocontrol strain of Trichoderma harzianum (T22). We found that root exudates (RE), obtained from plants grown in a split-root system and exposed to various biotic and abiotic stress factors (wounding, salt, pathogen attack), were able to stimulate the growth and act as chemoattractants of the biocontrol fungus. On the other hand, some of the treatments did not result in an enhanced chemotropism on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, indicating a mechanism that may be selective for nonpathogenic microbes. The involvement of peroxidases and oxylipins, both known to be released by roots in response to stress, was demonstrated by using RE fractions containing these molecules or their commercial purified analogs, testing the effect of an inhibitor, and characterizing the complex pattern of these metabolites released by tomato roots both locally and systemically.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chemotaxis
  • Fusarium / drug effects*
  • Fusarium / physiology
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Plant Exudates / pharmacology*
  • Plant Roots / metabolism*
  • Plant Roots / microbiology
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Solanum lycopersicum / metabolism*
  • Solanum lycopersicum / microbiology
  • Spores, Fungal
  • Stress, Physiological
  • Trichoderma / drug effects*
  • Trichoderma / physiology

Substances

  • Plant Exudates