title: Common gas phase molecules from fungi affect seed germination and plant health in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play important ecophysiological roles in mediating inter-kingdom signaling with arthropods but less is known about their interactions with plants. In this study, Arabidopsis thaliana was used as a model in order to test the physiological effects of 23 common vapor-phase fungal VOCs that included alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and other chemical classes. After exposure to a shared atmosphere with the 23 individual VOCs for 72 hrs, seeds were assayed for rate of germination and seedling formation; vegetative plants were assayed for fresh weight and chlorophyll concentration. All but five of the VOCs tested (1-decene, 2-n-heptylfuran, nonanal, geosmin and -limonene) had a significant effect in inhibiting either germination, seedling formation or both. Seedling formation was entirely inhibited by exposure to 1-octen-3-one, 2-ethylhexanal, 3-methylbutanal, and butanal. As assayed by a combination of fresh weight and chlorophyll concentration, 2-ethylhexanal had a negative impact on two-week-old vegetative plants. Three other compounds (1-octen-3-ol, 2-ethylhexanal, and 2-heptylfuran) decreased fresh weight alone. Most of the VOCs tested did not change the fresh weight or chlorophyll concentration of vegetative plants. In summary, when tested as single compounds, fungal VOCs affected A. thaliana in positive, negative or neutral ways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Dudley Rd., New Brunswick 08901, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Dudley Rd., New Brunswick 08901, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 96 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick 08901, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Saona
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Dudley Rd., New Brunswick 08901, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Joan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Bennett
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Chlorophyll concentration; Fungi; Gas chromatography; Mass spectroscopy; Seed germination; Volatile organic compound