Project description:Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) interactions between plants and Glomeromycota fungi primarily support phosphate aquisition of most terrestrial plant species. To unravel gene expression during early stages of Medicago truncatula root colonization by AM fungi, we used genome-wide transcriptome profiling based on mycorrhizal root fragments enriched for early fungal infection stages. We used Medicago GeneChips to detail the global programme of gene expression in response to early stages of colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and identified genes differentially expressed during these early stages.
Project description:Orchids form an endomycorrhizal association with fungal symbionts mainly belonging to Basidiomycetes. The molecular events taking place in orchid mycorrhiza are poorly understood, although the cellular changes necessary to accommodate the fungus and to control nutrient exchange between the symbionts imply a modulation of gene expression. In this study, we used proteomic and transcriptomic approaches to identify changes in the steady-state levels of proteins and transcripts in roots of the green terrestrial orchid Oeceoclades maculata. When mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal roots from the same individuals of O. maculata were compared, 94 proteins showed differential accumulation using the label-free protein quantitation approach, 86 using isobaric tagging (iTRAQ) and 60 using 2D-differential electrophoresis. After de novo assembly of transcriptomic data, 11,179 plant transcripts were found to be differentially expressed and 2175 were successfully annotated. The annotated plant transcripts allowed the identification of up- and down-regulated metabolic pathways in mycorrhizal roots, as compared to non-mycorrhizal roots. Overall, proteomics and transcriptomics revealed in mycorrhizal roots increased levels of transcription factors and nutrient transporters, as well as ethylene-related proteins. The expression pattern of proteins and transcripts involved in plant defense responses suggest that plant defense is reduced in mycorrhizal roots. These results expand our current knowledge towards a better understanding of the orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis in adult plants under natural conditions.