The fungal leaf endophyte Paraconiothyrium variabile specifically metabolizes the host-plant metabolome for its own benefit

Impact of an endophytic fungus on the leaf secondary metabolome of its host-plant was monitored through metabolomic approaches followed by structural characterization. Our study shows that the fungus specifically metabolizes the glycosylated flavonoids of the plant, leading to the production of the aglycone moieties. These deglycosylated flavonoids turned out to display significant beneficial effects on the hyphal growth of germinated spores of the endophyte suggesting their potential role as signaling molecules in the mutualistic plant-endophyte relationship.310