Inhibitory effects of extracellular self‐DNA: a general biological process?
Open Access
- 28 January 2015
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in New Phytologist
- Vol. 206 (1), 127-132
- https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13306
Abstract
Self-inhibition of growth has been observed in different organisms, but an underlying common mechanism has not been proposed so far. Recently, extracellular DNA (exDNA) has been reported as species-specific growth inhibitor in plants and proposed as an explanation of negative plant-soil feedback. In this work the effect of exDNA was tested on different species to assess the occurrence of such inhibition in organisms other than plants. Bioassays were performed on six species of different taxonomic groups, including bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, protozoa and insects. Treatments consisted in the addition to the growth substrate of conspecific and heterologous DNA at different concentration levels. Results showed that treatments with conspecific DNA always produced a concentration dependent growth inhibition, which instead was not observed in the case of heterologous DNA. Reported evidence suggests the generality of the observed phenomenon which opens new perspectives in the context of self-inhibition processes. Moreover, the existence of a general species-specific biological effect of exDNA raises interesting questions on its possible involvement in self-recognition mechanisms. Further investigation at molecular level will be required to unravel the specific functioning of the observed inhibitory effects.Keywords
This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Negative plant–soil feedback predicts tree-species relative abundance in a tropical forestNature, 2010
- DNA Is Taken Up by Root Hairs and Pollen, and Stimulates Root and Pollen Tube GrowthPlant Physiology, 2010
- APOBEC3 proteins mediate the clearance of foreign DNA from human cellsNature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2010
- Extracellular DNA Is Required for Root Tip Resistance to Fungal InfectionPlant Physiology, 2009
- Environment-dependent morphology in plasmodium of true slime mold Physarum polycephalum and a network growth modelJournal of Theoretical Biology, 2009
- Utilization of DNA as a Sole Source of Phosphorus, Carbon, and Energy by Shewanella spp.: Ecological and Physiological Implications for Dissimilatory Metal ReductionApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2008
- Kin recognition in an annual plantBiology Letters, 2007
- Escherichia coli Competence Gene Homologs Are Essential for Competitive Fitness and the Use of DNA as a NutrientJournal of Bacteriology, 2006
- Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Kill BacteriaScience, 2004
- Autotoxicity: Concept, Organisms, and Ecological SignificanceCritical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 1999