This research examines how the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) affects fungal phosphate homeostasis. The study utilizes the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) to investigate the molecular mechanisms of SL's action. They find that SL inhibits the high-affinity phosphate transporter Pho84 in yeast, leading to phosphate starvation. This mechanism is then confirmed in two plant-associated fungi, Serendipita indica and Fusarium graminearum. The authors suggest that SL may play a role in shaping fungal communities in the rhizosphere and highlight the potential of yeast as a model system for studying plant-fungal interactions.

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Modulation of fungal phosphate homeostasis by the plant hormone strigolactone

James M. Bradley, Michael Bunsick, George Ly, Bruno Aquino, Flora Zhiqi Wang, Duncan Holbrook-Smith, Shingo Suginoo, Dylan Bradizza, Naoki Kato, Omar As’sadiq,1 Nina Marsh, Hiroyuki Osada, François-Didier Boyer, Christopher S.P. McErlean, Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Rajagopal Subramaniam, Dario Bonetta, Peter McCourt, and Shelley Lumba.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2024.09.004