An isoflavone catabolism gene cluster discovered in microorganisms in the soybean rhizosphere

April 24, 2024

Contributing to the elucidation of rhizosphere formation mechanism and the production of beneficial materials

Researchers at Kyoto University, jointly with the RIKEN CSRS, discovered a gene cluster responsible for isoflavone catabolism in a member of Comamonadaceae isolated from the soybean rhizosphere. They revealed that isoflavone is metabolized oxidatively in the soybean rhizosphere, unlike in gut microbiota, where the molecule is broken down reductively. In this process, they also found a new intermediate metabolite. Furthermore, the isoflavone catabolism gene cluster was widely found in microorganisms living in rhizospheres of legumes producing isoflavone, suggesting that soil microbes acquiring this gene cluster could adapt to the rhizospheres of isoflavone-producing plants. These research findings have elucidated the novel gene cluster in rhizosphere microbes involved in the interaction with plants, leading to the understanding of mechanisms of how rhizosphere microbiomes form and the production of beneficial materials using the interaction between plants and rhizosphere microbes.

Original article

ISME Communications doi: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae052

N. Aoki, T. Shimasaki, W. Yazaki, T. Sato, M. Nakayasu, A. Ando, S. Kishino, Jun Ogawa, S. Masuda, A. Shibata, K. Shirasu, K. Yazaki, A. Sugiyama,

"An Isoflavone Catabolism Gene Cluster Underlying Interkingdom Interactions in the Soybean Rhizosphere".

Contact

Ken Shirasu; Group Director
Sachiko Masuda; Research Scientist
Plant Immunity Research Group