MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

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

Summary

Fungi form beneficial partnerships with plant roots, helping plants absorb nutrients and resist stress. A key process called alternative splicing allows cells to make different versions of proteins from the same genes, fine-tuning how plants and fungi cooperate. This review explains how alternative splicing acts like a molecular switch that balances the plant’s immune system with accepting the beneficial fungus, and how understanding this could help farmers grow healthier crops with less chemical fertilizers.

Background

Plant–fungal symbiosis is a widespread 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 mRNA isoforms and is crucial in regulating plant–fungal interactions. Understanding AS in symbiotic relationships has implications for sustainable agriculture and species conservation.

Objective

This review systematically examines the regulatory roles of alternative splicing in plant–fungal interactions, including arbuscular mycorrhizal, ectomycorrhizal, ericoid, and orchid mycorrhizae. The study integrates current knowledge about AS regulation of symbiotic responses, host immune signals, and signaling initiation during symbiosis. The review aims to identify research hotspots and future directions for expanding understanding of plant–fungal interactions.

Results

The review identified four main AS event types (exon skipping, alternative 3′ and 5′ splice sites, intron retention) that regulate symbiotic responses, nutrient absorption, signal transduction, and metabolic pathways. Specific genes like PICBP, PIN3, SYP132, API5, and CRK25 undergo AS during mycorrhizal colonization. Fungal effector proteins like SP7 modulate host AS patterns to balance immunity and symbiosis through small-molecule signaling.

Conclusion

Alternative splicing serves as a critical regulatory mechanism coordinating plant–fungal symbiosis by modulating gene expression, metabolic pathways, and defense responses. This sophisticated regulation enables plants to adapt to environmental changes while maintaining symbiotic efficiency. Understanding AS mechanisms provides theoretical foundations for improving crop yield and stress resistance through symbiosis-based agricultural biotechnologies.
  • Published in:International Journal of Molecular Sciences,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 40508007
Scroll to Top