High melanization of dark septate endophytes: an advantageous trait for plant colonization and stress tolerance

深色有隔内生菌的高度黑化：植物定植和胁迫耐受性的有利性状

• 批准号: 529932812
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Philipp Franken
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Faculté des Sciences et Technologies
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/529932812?language=en
• 关键词: melanization; dark; septate; endophytes; advantageous

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs) are a polyphyletic assemblage of Ascomycetes that colonize plant roots and are originally characterized by the accumulation of high concentrations of melanin in their hyphae. It has been hypothesized that this trait could be advantageous to both partners in plant-DSE associations in response to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, evidence for the contribution of high melanization of DSEs to stress mitigation is still lacking. Secondly, we hypothesize that melanin plays a role in root penetration by hyphae and subsequent colonization, because melanization is analogously required for virulent fungal pathogens to successfully infect animal and plant tissues. In this French-German collaborative project, we aim to better understand the melanization process in the DSE model Leptodontidium sp., including the study of regulatory mechanisms modulating melanization. Moreover, complementary genetic, pharmacological, physico-chemical, physiological and omics approaches contributed by the Franco-German partners will be used to decipher the role that melanin might play in the competitiveness of Leptodontidium sp. for plant colonization and in the high tolerance of Leptodontidium sp. to a range of abiotic and biotic stresses. The consortium is composed of researchers from four laboratories having complementary expertise in microbiology, plant-microbe interactions under stress conditions, fungal ecology, multi-omics analyses and bioinformatics. Particular techniques and topics are genetic transformation of DSEs and atomic force microscopy (Université of Lorraine - P1), miRNA analyses and metal stress (Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté - P2), epigenetics and RNAseq analysis (Friedrich Schiller University Jena - P3), and interactions between fungi and mycoparasites (Wismar University of Applied Sciences - P4). Therefore, answering the questions and testing the hypotheses concerning the role of melanin for DSEs and for DSE-plant interactions can only be achieved by the combined activities of the French-German team. Understanding the mechanisms that mitigate environmental stress for DSEs and for plants colonized by DSEs could contribute to the exploitation of this relevant fungal resource for the sustainable and economically meaningful production of crops that face increasing constraints, including the presence of mycophagous and plant-pathogenic organisms in the rhizosphere, exposure to contaminants, and climate change impacts such as drought and heat. Consequently, we also aim to ensure wide dissemination of the project results to the scientific community, society and stakeholders in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

暗隔膜内生菌（DSEs）是一种寄生于植物根部的多系子囊菌，其特征是菌丝中积累高浓度的黑色素。据推测，这种特性可能是有利的，双方在植物DSE协会在应对各种生物和非生物胁迫。然而，仍然缺乏DSE高度黑化对缓解压力的贡献的证据。其次，我们假设黑色素在菌丝的根渗透和随后的定殖中起作用，因为黑色素化类似地是有毒真菌病原体成功感染动物和植物组织所需的。在这个法德合作项目中，我们的目标是更好地了解DSE模型Leptodontidium sp.中的黑化过程，包括调节黑化的调节机制的研究。此外，互补的遗传，药理学，物理化学，生理学和组学方法贡献的法德合作伙伴将被用来破译黑色素可能发挥的作用，在竞争力的Leptodontidium sp.植物定植和高耐受性的Leptodontidium sp.一系列的非生物和生物胁迫。该联盟由来自四个实验室的研究人员组成，他们在微生物学、胁迫条件下的植物-微生物相互作用、真菌生态学、多组学分析和生物信息学方面具有互补的专业知识。具体的技术和主题是DSE的遗传转化和原子力显微镜（洛林大学- P1），miRNA分析和金属应力（勃艮第大学弗朗什-孔泰- P2），表观遗传学和RNAseq分析（弗里德里希席勒大学耶拿- P3），真菌和真菌寄生虫之间的相互作用（维斯马尔应用科学大学- P4）。因此，回答问题和测试有关黑色素对DSE和DSE-植物相互作用的作用的假设只能通过法国-德国团队的联合活动来实现。了解DSEs和DSEs定殖植物减轻环境压力的机制，有助于开发这种相关真菌资源，用于面临越来越多限制的作物的可持续和经济上有意义的生产，包括根际真菌和植物病原生物的存在，暴露于污染物，以及干旱和高温等气候变化影响。因此，我们还致力于确保向科学界、社会和农业、园艺和林业的利益攸关方广泛传播项目成果。