RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Inter-plant communication in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) through root colonization with the endophytic fungus Trichoderma hamatum: New findings in a “wired communication”
A1 Poveda Arias, Jorge
A1 Qu, Shiying
A1 Velasco, Pablo
K1 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
K1 Salicylic acid
K1 Jasmonic acid
K1 Glucosinolates
K1 Root-colonization
K1 Plant systemic defenses
K1 3106 Ciencia Forestal
AB Inter-plant communication has emerged as a critical yet poorly understood component of plant defense strate-gies, particularly belowground and beyond mycorrhizal systems. Our work demonstrates that the endophyticfungus Trichoderma hamatum mediates effective “wired communication” between neighboring broccoli (Brassicaoleracea var. italica) plants, enhancing resistance against the necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Usinga novel axenic culture system that allows controlled hyphal connections between plant roots, we show that foliarinfection of one plant triggers systemic defense priming in an adjacent, non-infected plant, but only in thepresence of T. hamatum. This inter-plant signaling resulted in a significant reduction of leaf lesion development,increased tissue vitality and reduced oxidative damage in the receiver plant. Mechanistically, fungal-mediatedcommunication was associated with dynamic changes in root colonization patterns rather than with detect-able metabolic reprogramming of the fungal mycelium. Defense activation in receiver plants involved stronghormonal rebalancing, characterized by local salicylic acid (SA)–mediated responses in roots and systemic jas-monic acid (JA)–dependent defenses in leaves. Untargeted metabolomics revealed the accumulation of defense-related metabolites, including neoglucobrassicin and lipid-derived compounds linked to SA and JA signaling, inplants that received the fungal-transmitted warning signal. Our findings extend the concept of inter-plantcommunication to non-mycorrhizal endophytic fungi and identify T. hamatum as an active biological conduitfor defense signaling in an agriculturally relevant crop. This work highlights fungal-mediated plant connectivityas an ecologically and agronomically relevant mechanism with potential applications in sustainable diseasemanagement.
PB Elsevier
SN 0168-9452
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83761
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83761
LA eng
NO Plant Science, 2026, vol. 367, p. 113104
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 26-mar-2026