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Plant–Fungi Mutualism, Alternative Splicing, and Defense Responses: Balancing Symbiosis and Immunity

Summary

Fungi and plants form partnerships that help plants grow better and resist stress, with fungi receiving sugars from plants in return for nutrients from the soil. This review explains how a cellular process called alternative splicing acts like a molecular switch that lets plants accept beneficial fungi while keeping the ability to fight off harmful pathogens. Understanding this balance could help farmers grow healthier crops with less chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Background

Plant–fungal symbiosis is a significant biotic interaction where fungi enhance plant growth, nutrient uptake, and stress resistance through mutualistic associations. Alternative splicing (AS) is a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism that generates diverse protein isoforms and plays crucial roles in plant–fungal interactions and adaptation to environmental changes.

Objective

This review systematically summarizes the regulatory roles of alternative splicing in plant–fungal interactions, examining how AS coordinates symbiotic responses, immune regulation, and molecular mechanisms that balance beneficial symbiosis with plant defense responses.

Results

AS regulates multiple plant processes through symbiotic signaling genes (PICPB, API5, PIN3, SYP132), immune regulation genes (CRK25, API5, GLP2-1), and fungal effector proteins (SP7, RiCTR3). Small molecules including gibberellins, jasmonate, strigolactones, and flavonoids modulate AS patterns to optimize symbiotic efficiency while maintaining plant defense capabilities.

Conclusion

Alternative splicing serves as a critical regulatory mechanism that fine-tunes the balance between plant–fungal symbiosis and immunity by modulating gene expression, metabolic pathways, and signaling cascades. Understanding AS regulation offers novel approaches for developing environmentally friendly agrochemicals and improving crop yield through targeted modulation of symbiosis-related genes.
  • Published in:International Journal of Molecular Sciences,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 40508007
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