It is known that volatile emissions from some beneficial rhizobacteria promote growth in plants. Here we show that volatile compounds emitted by the plant pathogen Alternaria alternata promote growth and the accumulation of exceptionally high levels of starch in leaves. Analyses of the volatile exometabolome of this species allowed us to identify several volatile compounds that promote plant growth and drastic metabolic changes. In Arabidopsis,this phenomenon (initially designated as MIVOISAP, for Microbial VOIatiles Induced Starch Accumulation Process) was accompanied by enhanced photosynthetic capacity, likely as a consequence of increased levels of plastidic type of cytokinins (CK). The magnitude of the phenomenon was low in mutants impaired in photoreceptors, CK receptors, plastidial NADP-thioredoxin reductase C(NTRC) and plastidic phosphoglucose isomerase. The overall data showed that (a) production of volatiles promoting plant growth is not restricted to beneficial rhizobacterial species, and (b) Arabidopsis MIVOISAP involves complex photocontrolled processes where in photoreceptors, NTRC－mediated changes in redox status of plastidial target proteins, CK production and signaling play important roles.

Póster presentado en el Fresh & glycoprotein symposium, celebrado en Japón en septiembre de 2015.

Peer Reviewed