An ancestral function of strigolactones as symbiotic rhizosphere signals
Kyoichi Kodama, Mélanie K. Rich, Akiyoshi Yoda, Shota Shimazaki, Xiaonan Xie, Kohki Akiyama, Yohei Mizuno, Aino Komatsu, Yi Luo, Hidemasa Suzuki, Hiromu Kameoka, Cyril Libourel, Jean Keller, Keiko Sakakibara, Tomoaki Nishiyama, Tomomi Nakagawa, Kiyoshi Mashiguchi, Ken‐ichi Uchida, Kaori Yoneyama, Yoshikazu Tanaka, Shinjiro Yamaguchi, Masaki Shimamura, Pierre‐Marc Delaux, T. Nomura, Junko Kyozuka
Abstract
In flowering plants, strigolactones (SLs) have dual functions as hormones that regulate growth and development, and as rhizosphere signaling molecules that induce symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Here, we report the identification of bryosymbiol (BSB), an SL from the bryophyte Marchantia paleacea. BSB is also found in vascular plants, indicating its origin in the common ancestor of land plants. BSB synthesis is enhanced at AM symbiosis permissive conditions and BSB deficient mutants are impaired in AM symbiosis. In contrast, the absence of BSB synthesis has little effect on the growth and gene expression. We show that the introduction of the SL receptor of Arabidopsis renders M. paleacea cells BSB-responsive. These results suggest that BSB is not perceived by M. paleacea cells due to the lack of cognate SL receptors. We propose that SLs originated as AM symbiosis-inducing rhizosphere signaling molecules and were later recruited as plant hormone.