Essential Site Maintenance: Authorea-powered sites will be updated circa 15:00-17:00 Eastern on Tuesday 5 November.
There should be no interruption to normal services, but please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any issues.

loading page

Tris(methylthio)methane Produced by Mortierella hyalina Affects Sulfur Homeostasis in Arabidopsis
  • +5
  • Yu-Heng Tseng,
  • Stefan Bartram,
  • Sandra Scholz,
  • Michael Reichelt,
  • Anja Meents,
  • Anatoli Ludwig,
  • Axel Mithöfer,
  • Ralf Oelmüller
Yu-Heng Tseng
Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Stefan Bartram
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Author Profile
Sandra Scholz
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Author Profile
Michael Reichelt
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Author Profile
Anja Meents
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Author Profile
Anatoli Ludwig
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Author Profile
Axel Mithöfer
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Author Profile
Ralf Oelmüller
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Author Profile

Abstract

Microbial volatiles are important factors in symbiotic interactions with plants. Mortierella hyalina is a beneficial root-colonizing fungus with a garlic-like smell, and promotes growth of Arabidopsis seedlings. GC-MS analysis of the M. hyalina headspace and NMR analysis of the extracted essential oil identified the sulfur-containing volatile tris(methylthio)methane (TMTM) as the major compound. Its incorporation in seedlings was shown by 34S labeling experiment. Under sulfur deficiency, TMTM downregulated sulfur deficiency-responsive genes, prevented glucosinolate (GSL) and glutathione (GSH) diminishment, and sustained plant growth. However, excess TMTM led to accumulation of GSH and GSL and reduced plant growth. Since TMTM is not directly incorporated into cysteine, we propose that the volatile from M. hyalina influences the plant sulfur metabolism by interfering with the GSH metabolism, and alleviates sulfur imbalances under sulfur stress.
20 Aug 2022Published in Scientific Reports volume 12 issue 1. 10.1038/s41598-022-16827-7