title: Plants Release Precursors of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors to Suppress Growth of Competitors.
abstract: To secure their access to water, light, and nutrients, many plant species have developed allelopathic strategies to suppress competitors. To this end, they release into the rhizosphere phytotoxic substances that inhibit the germination and growth of neighbors. Despite the importance of allelopathy in shaping natural plant communities and for agricultural production, the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we report that allelochemicals derived from the common class of cyclic hydroxamic acid root exudates directly affect the chromatin-modifying machinery in Arabidopsis thaliana. These allelochemicals inhibit histone deacetylases both in vitro and in vivo and exert their activity through locus-specific alterations of histone acetylation and associated gene expression. Our multilevel analysis collectively shows how plant-plant interactions interfere with a fundamental cellular process, histone acetylation, by targeting an evolutionarily highly conserved class of enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Clinic, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Venturelli
authors.affiliation: Agroecology Unit, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Belz
authors.affiliation: Applied Bioinformatics, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kämper
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Clinic, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Clinic, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Kyra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: von Horn
authors.affiliation: Applied Bioinformatics, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wegner
authors.affiliation: Evotec AG, 22419 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böcker
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Section, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Inserm U1024, CNRS UMR 8197, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zabulon
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9905-7183
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Langenecker
authors.affiliation: Applied Bioinformatics, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1739-4598
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kohlbacher
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Section, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Inserm U1024, CNRS UMR 8197, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Fredy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barneche
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2114-7963
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weigel
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Clinic, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Lauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University Clinic, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bitzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany claude.becker@tuebingen.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3406-4670
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation / Q000187:drug effects; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D056426:Genetic Loci; D006540:Herbicides / Q000494:pharmacology; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010078:Oxazines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; D006657:Histones; D010078:Oxazines; D010675:Pheromones; C005512:3-aminophenoxazone; D006655:Histone Deacetylases