To survive and develop, plants must constantly assess their available resources and adjust their metabolic activity accordingly. A research unit at the University of Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), under the supervision of the CNRS and in collaboration with the Universities of Montpellier, Lorraine, Cologne, and Düsseldorf, along with a CNRS team in Strasbourg, has found that an essential element for protein synthesis can play a central role in this adaptation.
The study focuses on three transfer RNAs (tRNAs), small molecules indispensable for protein production. When these lose a chemical group containing sulfur, certain proteins are produced in lesser quantities. This modification leads to a significant reorganization of the plant's metabolism.
Researchers notably observe variations in the production of several amino acids and sulfur-containing molecules, essential for the organism's functioning. More surprisingly, these changes also disrupt the plants' ability to interact with their microbiota, which is the collection of microorganisms living in association with them.
These results suggest that the plant might interpret the loss of this sulfur group as a signal of nutrient deficiency. It would then trigger a genuine adaptation response, modifying the production of essential proteins and metabolites, as well as its interactions with bacteria in its environment.
This study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), one of the most prestigious international scientific journals in exact and experimental sciences (biology, medicine, climate, ecology, etc.).
