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EUS_popplars tripartite
Helmholtz Munich | © Jörg-Peter Schnitzler

DFG Poplars’ tripartite interactions with soil beneficial fungi

Communication between partners is crucial for initiating and maintaining various relationships. Both plants and fungi release signaling substances such as sugars or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to interact. While plant VOCs are known to mediate aboveground interspecific interactions, little is known about the importance of VOCs in the rhizosphere. Most studies have focused on bilateral interactions, neglecting the complexity of natural, multi-organism scenarios. The aim of this joint DFG project with Philipp Benz’s research group ‘Fungal Biotechnology in Wood Science’ at the Technical University Munich is to decipher the VOC- and carbohydrate-mediated communication of poplars in association with the per se plant-beneficial fungi Trichoderma spp. and the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor. Due to the biocontrol ability of Trichoderma species and the associated fungal antagonism, the fate of these interspecific interactions is so far unpredictable.

Key questions we hope to answer in the project are:
(1) What drives the relationship between two beneficial fungi on a common host plant?
(2) To what extent is the tripartite relationship affected by soil nutrient status?
(3) Does the plant interfere with communication/interaction between two possibly competing but per se mutualistic partners?
(4) How relevant are volatile and water-soluble ‘info-chemicals’ to plant-fungal communication?

The knowledge gained in this project can potentially be used to improve concepts for reforestation or phytoremediation of contaminated sites with combinations of woody plants and plant-favoring fungi.

Communication between partners is crucial for initiating and maintaining various relationships. Both plants and fungi release signaling substances such as sugars or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to interact. While plant VOCs are known to mediate aboveground interspecific interactions, little is known about the importance of VOCs in the rhizosphere. Most studies have focused on bilateral interactions, neglecting the complexity of natural, multi-organism scenarios. The aim of this joint DFG project with Philipp Benz’s research group ‘Fungal Biotechnology in Wood Science’ at the Technical University Munich is to decipher the VOC- and carbohydrate-mediated communication of poplars in association with the per se plant-beneficial fungi Trichoderma spp. and the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor. Due to the biocontrol ability of Trichoderma species and the associated fungal antagonism, the fate of these interspecific interactions is so far unpredictable.

Key questions we hope to answer in the project are:
(1) What drives the relationship between two beneficial fungi on a common host plant?
(2) To what extent is the tripartite relationship affected by soil nutrient status?
(3) Does the plant interfere with communication/interaction between two possibly competing but per se mutualistic partners?
(4) How relevant are volatile and water-soluble ‘info-chemicals’ to plant-fungal communication?

The knowledge gained in this project can potentially be used to improve concepts for reforestation or phytoremediation of contaminated sites with combinations of woody plants and plant-favoring fungi.

Selected Publications

Sivaprakasam Padmanaban PB, Rosenkranz M, Zhu P, Kaling M, Schmidt A, Schmitt-Kopplin P, Polle A, Schnitzler JP (2022): Mycorrhiza-tree-herbivore interactions: alterations in poplar metabolome and volatilome. Metabolites 12(2), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12020093 .

Guo Y, Jud W, Ghirardo A, Antritter F, Benz JP, Schnitzler JP, Rosenkranz M (2020): Sniffing fungi – Phenotyping of volatile chemical diversity in Trichoderma species. New Phytologist 227, 244-259.

Miloradovic van Doorn M, Merl-Pham J, Ghirardo A, Fink S, Polle A, Schnitzler JP, Rosenkranz M (2020): Root isoprene formation alters lateral root development. Plant Cell & Environment 43, 2207-2223.

Guo Y, Ghirardo A, Weber B, Schnitzler JP, Benz JP, Rosenkranz M (2019): Trichoderma species differ in their volatile profiles and in antagonism towards ectomycorrhiza Laccaria bicolor. Frontiers in Microbiology, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00891.

 

Contact

Porträt Jörg-Peter Schnitzle

Prof. Dr. Jörg-Peter Schnitzler

Director of Department, Biologist View profile

Prasath Balaji Sivaprakasam Padmanaban

PhD Student