IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-18994-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A bacterial endophyte exploits chemotropism of a fungal pathogen for plant colonization

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Palmieri

    (Università degli Studi del Molise)

  • Stefania Vitale

    (Universidad de Córdoba
    Università di Napoli Federico II)

  • Giuseppe Lima

    (Università degli Studi del Molise)

  • Antonio Pietro

    (Universidad de Córdoba)

  • David Turrà

    (Universidad de Córdoba
    Università di Napoli Federico II
    Università di Napoli Federico II)

Abstract

Soil-inhabiting fungal pathogens use chemical signals released by roots to direct hyphal growth towards the host plant. Whether other soil microorganisms exploit this capacity for their own benefit is currently unknown. Here we show that the endophytic rhizobacterium Rahnella aquatilis locates hyphae of the root-infecting fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum through pH-mediated chemotaxis and uses them as highways to efficiently access and colonize plant roots. Secretion of gluconic acid (GlcA) by R. aquatilis in the rhizosphere leads to acidification and counteracts F. oxysporum-induced alkalinisation, a known virulence mechanism, thereby preventing fungal infection. Genetic abrogation or biochemical inhibition of GlcA-mediated acidification abolished biocontrol activity of R. aquatilis and restored fungal infection. These findings reveal a new way by which bacterial endophytes hijack hyphae of a fungal pathogen in the soil to gain preferential access to plant roots, thereby protecting the host from infection.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Palmieri & Stefania Vitale & Giuseppe Lima & Antonio Pietro & David Turrà, 2020. "A bacterial endophyte exploits chemotropism of a fungal pathogen for plant colonization," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-18994-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18994-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18994-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-18994-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-18994-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.