Didier Reinhardt

Université de Fribourg · Department Biology

Establishment of symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi depends on fungal chitooligosaccharides (COs) and lipo‐chitooligosaccharides (LCOs). The latter are also produced by nitrogen‐fixing rhizobia to induce nodules on leguminous roots. However, host enzymes regulating structure and levels of these signals remain largely unk...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s12298-022-01205-4.].

Arid and semi-arid areas are considered vulnerable to various environmental constraints which are further fortified by climate change. Salinity is one of the most serious abiotic factors affecting crop yield and soil fertility. Till now, no information is available on the effect of salinity on development and symbiotic nitrogen (N2) fixation in the...

Despite its central role in the control of plant architecture, strigolactone has been recognized as a phytohormone only 15 years ago. Together with auxin, it regulates shoot branching in response to genetically encoded programs, as well as environmental cues. A central determinant of shoot architecture is apical dominance, i.e., the tendency of the...

The regular arrangement of organs (phyllotaxis) in vegetative shoots and flowers is one of the most stunning features of plants. Spiral patterns characterized by Fibonacci numbers have attracted the particular interest of natural scientists and mathematicians. Numerous reviews have dealt with the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying phyllotaxis,...

Fit for the Future. In the last two years, the Department of Biology continued its path of consolidation, removing the last administrative remains of the former “units”. We now have a uniform hierarchy, established minimally structured working groups that deal with diverse organizational tasks, and streamlined administration that gives us more fle...

Most land plants entertain a mutualistic symbiosis known as arbuscular mycorrhiza with fungi (Glomeromycota) that provide them with essential mineral nutrients, in particular phosphate (Pi), and protect them from biotic and abiotic stress. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis increases plant productivity and biodiversity, and is therefore relevant...

In plants, pathogen attack can induce an immune response known as systemic acquired resistance that protects against a broad spectrum of pathogens. In the search for safer agrochemicals, silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs; food additive E551) have recently been proposed as a new tool. However, initial results are controversial, and the molecular mechan...

The intimate association of host and fungus in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis can potentially trigger induction of host defence mechanisms against the fungus, implying that successful symbiosis requires suppression of defence. We addressed this phenomenon by using AM‐defective vapyrin ( vpy ) mutants in Petunia hybrida , including a new alle...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) live as obligate root symbionts on almost all land plants. They have long been regarded as ancient asexuals that have propagated clonally for millions of years. However, genomic studies in Rhizophagus irregularis and other AMF revealed many features indicative of sex. Surprisingly, comparative genomics of conspeci...

The intimate association of host and fungus in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis can potentially trigger induction of host defence mechanisms against the fungus, implying that successful symbiosis requires suppression of defence. We addressed this phenomenon by using AM-defective vapyrin ( vpy ) mutants in Petunia hybrida , including a new alle...

The VAPYRIN (VPY) gene in Medicago truncatula and Petunia hybrida is required for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. The moss Physcomitrella patens has a close homologue (VPY-like, VPYL), although it does not form AM. Here, we explore the phylogeny of VPY and VPYL in land plants, and we study the expression and developmental function of VPYL in...

Bacterial lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs) are key mediators of the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis (RNS) in legumes. The isolation of LCOs from arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi suggested that LCOs are also signaling molecules in arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). However, the corresponding plant receptors have remained uncharacterized. Here we show th...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is the most wide‐spread symbiotic association of plants. It involves the intracellular colonization of root cortex cells by AM fungi, a monophyletic clade of obligate symbionts known as the Glomeromycotina. AM can be found in virtually all ecological niches, and they often play an essential role in plant nutrition. In add...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a symbiosis between plants and AM fungi that requires the intracellular accommodation of the fungal partner in the host. For reciprocal nutrient exchange, AM fungi form intracellular arbuscules that are surrounded by the peri-arbuscular membrane. This membrane, together with the fungal plasma membrane, and the space in...

The majority of land plants have two suberized root barriers: the endodermis, and the hypodermis (exodermis). Both barriers bear non-suberized passage cells that are thought to regulate water and nutrient exchange between the root and the soil. While we learned a lot about endodermal passage cells during the last years, our knowledge on hypodermal...

Anticipating future challenges. The Department of Biology has changed greatly during these last years, notably in the disappearance of the former “units” to form a more flexible and hierarchically uniform structure, the reorganization of the administrative and technical staff, the establishment of platforms in bioinformatics, bioimaging, and proteo...

The microbes in the rhizosphere constitute very complex communities, in which some are beneficial, others are pathogenic, but the vast majority of microbes are neutral commensals. Methods to unravel the interactions between roots and rhizospheric microbes have involved genetic approaches to determine the molecular bases of plant-microbe recognition...

This book compiles various methodologies used in understanding interactions within the rhizosphere. An in-depth understanding of the rhizosphere is essential to developing successful strategies for future sustainable agriculture. The book summarizes methods and techniques used to study the mechanisms involved in mutualistic symbioses and pathogenic...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is the most common symbiotic association of plants with microbes. AM fungi occur in the majority of natural habitats and they provide a range of important ecological services, in particular by improving plant nutrition, stress resistance and tolerance, as well as soil structure and fertility. AM fungi interact with most c...

Angiosperm inflorescences develop in two fundamentally different ways. In monopodial plants, for example in Arabidopsis thaliana, the flowers are initiated as lateral appendages of a central indeterminate inflorescence meristem. In sympodial plants, flowers arise by terminal differentiation of the inflorescence meristem, while further inflorescence...

How complex developmental-genetic networks are translated into organs with specific 3D shapes remains an open question. This question is particularly challenging because the elaboration of specific shapes is in essence a question of mechanics. In plants, this means how the genetic circuitry affects the cell wall. The mechanical properties of the wa...

How complex developmental-genetic networks are translated into organs with specific 3D shapes remains an open question. This question is particularly challenging because the elaboration of specific shapes is in essence a question of mechanics. In plants, this means how the genetic circuitry affects the cell wall. The mechanical properties of the wa...

Background: Development of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) requires a fundamental reprogramming of root cells for symbiosis. This involves the induction of hundreds of genes in the host. A recently identified GRAS-type transcription factor in Petunia hybrida, ATA/RAM1, is required for the induction of host genes during AM, and for morphogenesis of the...

Most plants entertain mutualistic interactions known as arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) with soil fungi (Glomeromycota) which provide them with mineral nutrients in exchange for reduced carbon from the plant. Mycorrhizal roots represent strong carbon sinks in which hexoses are transferred from the plant host to the fungus. However, most of the carbon in...

Petunia hybrida is a popular bedding plant that has a long history as a genetic model system. We report the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of inbred derivatives of its two wild parents, P. axillaris N and P. inflata S6. The assemblies include 91.3% and 90.2% coverage of their diploid genomes (1.4 Gb; 2n = 14) containing 32,928 and 36,697 prot...

Petunia hybrida is a popular bedding plant that has a long history as a genetic model system. We report the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of inbred derivatives of its two wild parents, P. axillaris N and P. inflata S6. The current assemblies include 91.3% and 90.2% coverage of their diploid genomes (1.4 Gb; 2n=14) containing 32,928 and 36,69...

As sessile organisms that cannot evade adverse environmental conditions, plants have evolved various adaptive strategies to cope with environmental stresses. One of the most successful adaptations is the formation of symbiotic associations with beneficial microbes. In these mutualistic interactions the partners exchange essential nutrients and impr...

Plants are highly plastic in their potential to adapt to changing environmental conditions. For example, they can selectively promote the relative growth of the root and the shoot in response to limiting supply of mineral nutrients and light, respectively, a phenomenon that is referred to as balanced growth or functional equilibrium. To gain insigh...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a mutual symbiosis that involves a complex symbiotic interface over which nutrients are exchanged between the plant host and the AM fungus. Dozens of genes in the host are required for the establishment and functioning of the interaction, among them nutrient transporters that mediate the uptake of mineral nutrients del...

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##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

The spatial arrangement of leaves and flowers around the stem, known as phyllotaxis, is controlled by an auxin-dependent reiterative mechanism that leads to regular spacing of the organs and thereby to remarkably precise phyllotactic patterns. The mechanism is based on the active cellular transport of the phytohormone auxin by cellular influx and e...

Roots and flowers are formed at the extreme ends of plants and they differ in almost every aspect of their development and function; even so, they exhibit surprising molecular commonalities. For example, the calcium and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) plays a central role in root symbioses with fungi and bacteria, but is also highly exp...

Background Genes involved in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis have been identified primarily by mutant screens, followed by identification of the mutated genes (forward genetics). In addition, a number of AM-related genes has been identified by their AM-related expression patterns, and their function has subsequently been elucidated by knock-d...

To identify specific genes determining the initiation and formation of adventitious roots (AR), a microarray-based transcriptome analysis in the stem base of the cuttings of Petunia hybrida (line W115) was conducted. A microarray carrying 24,816 unique, non-redundant annotated sequences was hybridized to probes derived from different stages of AR f...

Plants engage in mutualistic interactions with microbes that improve their mineral nutrient supply. The most wide-spread symbiotic association is arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), in which fungi of the order Glomeromycota invade roots and colonize the cellular lumen of cortical cells. The establishment of this interaction requires a dedicated molecular-g...

Phosphorus and nitrogen are essential nutrient elements that are needed by plants in large amounts. The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and soil fungi improves phosphorus and nitrogen acquisition under limiting conditions. On the other hand, these nutrients influence root colonization by mycorrhizal fungi and symbiotic functioning....

As sessile organisms that cannot evade adverse environmental conditions, plants have evolved various adaptive strategies to cope with environmental stresses. One of the most successful adaptations is the formation of symbiotic associations with beneficial microbes. In these mutualistic interactions the partners exchange essential nutrients and impr...

Although genetic control of morphogenesis is well established, elaboration of complex shapes requires changes in the mechanical properties of cells. In plants, the first visible sign of leaf formation is a bulge on the flank of the shoot apical meristem. Bulging results from local relaxation of cell walls, which causes them to yield to internal hyd...

Strigolactones were originally identified as stimulators of the germination of root-parasitic weeds that pose a serious threat to resource-limited agriculture. They are mostly exuded from roots and function as signalling compounds in the initiation of arbuscular mycorrhizae, which are plant–fungus symbionts with a global effect on carbon and phosph...

Plant VAPYRINS are required for the establishment of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and root nodule symbiosis (RNS). In vapyrin mutants, the intracellular accommodation of AM fungi and rhizobia is blocked, and in the case of AM, the fungal endosymbiont cannot develop arbuscules which serve for nutrient exchange. VAPYRINs are plant-specific proteins tha...

Among the oldest symbiotic associations of plants are arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) with fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota. Although many of the symbiotic signaling components have been identified on the side of the plant, AM fungi have long evaded genetic analysis owing to their strict biotrophy and their exceptional genetics. Recently, the identific...

Two linkage maps were constructed for the model plant Petunia. Mapping populations were obtained by crossing the wild species Petunia axillaris subsp. axillaris with Petunia inflata, and Petunia axillaris subsp. parodii with Petunia exserta. Both maps cover the seven chromosomes of Petunia, and span 970 centimorgans (cM) and 700 cM of the genomes,...

Most terrestrial plants form arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), mutualistic associations with soil fungi of the order Glomeromycota. The obligate biotrophic fungi trade mineral nutrients, mainly phosphate (P(i) ), for carbohydrates from the plants. Under conditions of high exogenous phosphate supply, when the plant can meet its own P requirements without...

Most terrestrial plants engage into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis with fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota. The initial recognition of the fungal symbiont results in the activation of a symbiosis signalling pathway that is shared with the root nodule symbiosis (common SYM pathway). The subsequent intracellular accommodation of the fungus, and...

In Petunia x hybrida cv. 'Mitchell Diploid' floral fragrance is comprised of 13 volatile benzenoids/phenylpropanoids derived from the aromatic amino acid phenylalanine. Several genes involved in the direct synthesis of individual floral volatile benzenoid/phenylpropanoid (FVBP) compounds, i.e. at the end of the pathway, have been isolated and chara...