Mannitol in Plants, Fungi, and Plant–Fungal Interactions

Although the presence of mannitol in organisms as diverse as plants and fungi clearly suggests that this compound has important roles, our understanding of fungal mannitol metabolism and its interaction with mannitol metabolism in plants is far from complete. Despite recent inroads into understanding the importance of mannitol and its metabolic roles in salt, osmotic, and oxidative stress tolerance in plants and fungi, our current understanding of exactly how mannitol protects against reactive oxygen is also still incomplete. In this opinion, we propose a new model of the interface between mannitol metabolism in plants and fungi and how it impacts plant–pathogen interactions.

TrendsMannitol is proposed to have a role(s) in protecting cells and cellular structures against damage by reactive oxygen that is unrelated to previous models of radical scavenging.The application of newer techniques, such as targeted gene disruption, now allows for new interpretations of the nature and role of mannitol metabolism in fungi.