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Host plant stimulates the tryptophan betaine, hypaphorine, accumulation in Pisolithus tinctorius hyphae during ectomycorrhizal infection. Fungal hypaphorine controls K+ uptake, H+ extrusion and root hair development

Talk. Thursday session 7: Systematics, Specificity and Recognition
BEGUIRISTAIN THIERRY, JIANGUO HUANG & FREDERIC LAPEYRIE
Equipe de Microbiologie Forestière, I.N.R.A., Centre de Nancy, 54280 Champenoux, France

ICOM1 Abstract
Hypaphorine, the betaine of tryptophan, is the major indolic compound which accumulates in Pisolithus tinctorius hyphae. Hypaphorine is over-accumulated in P. tinctorius tissues as soon as hyphae are in contact with host plant root surface. This phenomenon observed, 24 hours after inoculation was recorded as well in several month old ectomycorrhizae. Such over-accumulation is controlled by specific root diffusible molecules, it could be induced through a membrane, but non- host plants are inactive.
Hypaphorine solutions (0.1-10 µM) applied to fungal colonies stimulated net K+ uptake and net H+ extrusion. Hypaphorine and IAA activities were in the same range of magnitude, while tryptophane, a precursor of IAA and hypaphorine in P. tinctorius, was inactive. P. tinctorius, a hypaphorine producer, was much less responsive to exogenous micromolar hypaphorine solutions, than Paxillus involutus, a non- hypaphorine producer. Hypaphorine might be in some way contributing to ion fluxes regulation through plasma membrane, in hyphal tip for cell elongation and in mycorrhizae for nutrient exchange between hyphae and root cortical cells.
Fungal hypaphorine had no IAA like activity on Eucalyptus root elongation and ramification and therefore could not be considered as an auxin analogue, instead a strong reduction of root hairs elongation was recorded (10-1000 µM)