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Background  Melatonin (MT), ubiquitous in almost all organisms, functions as a free radical scavenger. Despite several reports on its role as an antioxidant in animals, plants, and some microorganisms, extensive studies in filamentous fungi are limited. Based upon the role of melatonin as an antioxidant, we investigated its role in heavy metal-induced stress tolerance in  Exophiala pisciphila , a dark septate endophyte (DSE), by studying the underlying mechanisms in alleviating oxidative stress and reducing heavy metal accumulation.    Results  A significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) and oxygen free radical (OFR) in  E .  pisciphila  was recorded under Cd, Zn, and Pb stresses as compared to the control. Pretreatment of  E .  pisciphila  with 200.0 μM exogenous melatonin significantly increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) under Zn and Pb stresses. Pretreatment with 200.0 μM melatonin also lowered Cd, Zn, and Pb concentrations significantly. Melatonin production was enhanced by Cd, Cu, and Zn after 2 d, and melatonin biosynthetic enzyme genes,  E .  pisciphila  tryptophan decarboxylase ( EpTDC1 ) and serotonin  N -acetyltransferase ( EpSNAT1 ), were transcriptionally upregulated. The overexpression of  EpTDC1  and  N -acetylserotonin  O -methyltransferase ( EpASMT1 ) in  Escherichia coli  and  Arabidopsis thaliana  enhanced its heavy metal-induced stress tolerance. The overexpression of  EpTDC1  and  EpASMT1  reduced the Cd accumulation in the whole  A. thaliana  plants, especially in the roots.    Conclusions  Melatonin conferred heavy metal-induced stress tolerance by alleviating oxidative stress, activating antioxidant enzyme SOD, and reducing heavy metal accumulation in  E. pisciphila . Melatonin biosynthetic enzyme genes of  E. pisciphila  also played key roles in limiting excessive heavy metal accumulation in  A. thaliana . These findings can be extended to understand the role of melatonin in other DSEs associated with economically important plants and help develop new strategies in sustainable agriculture practice where plants can grow in soils contaminated with heavy metals.    Supplementary Information  The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-021-02098-1.

bmc microbiology

Melatonin confers heavy metal-induced tolerance by alleviating oxidative stress and reducing the heavy metal accumulation in Exophiala pisciphila, a dark septate endophyte (DSE)