posted on 2021-05-21, 16:39authored byYan Yu, Ying K. Zhang, Murli Manohar, Alexander B. Artyukhin, Anshu Kumari, Francisco J. Tenjo-Castano, Hung Nguyen, Pratyush Routray, Andrea Choe, Daniel F. Klessig, Frank C. Schroeder
Many
bacterivorous and parasitic nematodes secrete signaling molecules
called ascarosides that play a central role regulating their behavior
and development. Combining stable-isotope labeling and mass spectrometry-based
comparative metabolomics, here we show that ascarosides are taken
up from the environment and metabolized by a wide range of phyla,
including plants, fungi, bacteria, and mammals, as well as nematodes.
In most tested eukaryotes and some bacteria, ascarosides are metabolized
into derivatives with shortened fatty acid side chains, analogous
to ascaroside biosynthesis in nematodes. In plants and C.
elegans, labeled ascarosides were additionally integrated
into larger, modular metabolites, and use of different ascaroside
stereoisomers revealed the stereospecificity of their biosynthesis.
The finding that nematodes extensively metabolize ascarosides taken
up from the environment suggests that pheromone editing may play a
role in conspecific and interspecific interactions. Moreover, our
results indicate that plants, animals, and microorganisms may interact
with associated nematodes via manipulation of ascaroside signaling.