Nature Communications (Sep 2021)

Fatal attraction of Caenorhabditis elegans to predatory fungi through 6-methyl-salicylic acid

  • Xi Yu,
  • Xiaodi Hu,
  • Maria Pop,
  • Nicole Wernet,
  • Frank Kirschhöfer,
  • Gerald Brenner-Weiß,
  • Julia Keller,
  • Mirko Bunzel,
  • Reinhard Fischer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25535-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Methyl salicylate ester is a plant metabolite involved in plant-insect and plant-plant interactions. Here, Yu et al. show that a nematode-trapping fungus has potential to produce a related compound, 6-methyl salicylate, which attracts its prey (nematodes) and modulates spore germination and trap formation in the fungus.