Arabidopsis thaliana accumulates dehydroepiandrosterone after infection with phytopathogenic fungi - Effects on plants and fungi.

Progestogens and androgens have been found in many plants, but little is known about their physiological function. We used a previously established UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method to analyze progestogen and androgen profiles in fungal infections. Here we show that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a C steroid, specifically accumulates in shoots of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.