title: Fungal Production and Manipulation of Plant Hormones.
abstract: Living organisms are part of a highly interconnected web of interactions, characterised by species nurturing, competing, parasitizing and preying on one another. Plants have evolved cooperative as well as defensive strategies to interact with neighbour organisms. Among these, the plant-fungus associations are very diverse, ranging from pathogenic to mutualistic. Our current knowledge of plant-fungus interactions suggests a sophisticated coevolution to ensure dynamic plant responses to evolving fungal mutualistic/pathogenic strategies. The plant-fungus communication relies on a rich chemical language. To manipulate the plant defence mechanisms, fungi produce and secrete several classes of biomolecules, whose modeof- action is largely unknown. Upon perception of the fungi, plants produce phytohormones and a battery of secondary metabolites that serve as defence mechanism against invaders or to promote mutualistic associations. These mutualistic chemical signals can be co-opted by pathogenic fungi for their own benefit. Among the plant molecules regulating plant-fungus interaction, phytohormones play a critical role since they modulate various aspects of plant development, defences and stress responses. Intriguingly, fungi can also produce phytohormones, although the actual role of fungalproduced phytohormones in plant-fungus interactions is poorly understood. Here, we discuss the recent advances in fungal production of phytohormone, their putative role as endogenous fungal signals and how fungi manipulate plant hormone balance to their benefits.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genetica Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid. Spain.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Dhanya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Kalika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genetica Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid. Spain.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chini
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators
keywords: Phytohormones; TAM; fungal effectors; fungal secondary metabolites; plant
  hormones; plant-fungus communication