8 June 2017

Fatty acids in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are synthesized by the host plant

Leonie H. Luginbuehl, Guillaume N. Menard, Smita Kurup, Harrie van Erp, Guru Radhakrishnan, Andrew Breakspear, Giles E.D. Oldroyd, and Peter J. Eastmond - Science, 2017

Abstract

Plants form beneficial associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which facilitate nutrient acquisition from the soil. In return, the fungi receive organic carbon from the plants. The transcription factor RAM1 (REQUIRED FOR ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZATION 1) is crucial for this symbiosis, and we demonstrate that it is required and sufficient for the induction of a lipid biosynthetic pathway that is expressed in plant cells accommodating fungal arbuscules. Lipids are transferred from the plant to mycorrhizal fungi, which are fatty acid auxotrophs, and this lipid export requires the glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase RAM2, a direct target of RAM1. Our work shows that in addition to sugars, lipids are a major source of organic carbon delivered to the fungus, and this is necessary for the production of fungal lipids.

Read the entire publication

Share this:

Receive updates from the Crop Science Centre

Thanks! We’ve received your email.

Sorry, something went wrong.

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: The Crop Science Centre, Lawrence Weaver Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0LE, GB. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.