| RESEARCH |
5-Deoxystrigol lures fungi to plants Most plants enjoy a symbiotic relationship with soil fungi: The fungi provide the plants with nutrients from the soil, and the plants provide fungi with carbohydrates derived from photosynthesis. In the absence of a plant, the fungal life cycle essentially shuts down. But if a plant is present, the fungi grow and branch, reaching out to make contact with the plant's roots. Scientists figured that some kind of chemical signal must pass from plant root to fungi to initiate this growth. Yet researchers have been unable to identify the signal because of the compound's low concentration and instability. Now Kohki Akiyama of Japan's Osaka Prefecture University and colleagues have isolated and concentrated the signaling agent (Nature 2005, 435, 824). Using several spectroscopic methods and backing their results with a confirmatory chemical synthesis, they identified the compound as the strigolactone 5-deoxystrigol (shown). Strigolactones can also be detected by parasitic weeds that sap plants of water and nutrients. The authors suggest that chemical communication may provide a strategy to control beneficial fungi and harmful weeds in agriculture and natural ecosystems. |
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