PRJNA533559
Solanum lycopersicum Transcriptome
Numerous microbial root symbionts are known to induce different levels of enhanced plant protection against a variety ofpathogens. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that beneficial microbes are able to induce plant systemic resistancethat confers some degree of protection against insects.Here we report how treatments with the fungal biocontrol agent Trichoderma atroviride strain P1 to tomato plants induceresponses that affect pest insects with different feeding habits: the noctuid moth Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) and the aphidMacrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas). We observed that the tomato plant–Trichoderma P1 interaction had a negative impact on thedevelopment of moth larvae and on aphid longevity. These effects were attributed to a plant- response induced by Trichoderma,that was associated with transcriptional changes of a wide array of defence-related genes. While the impact on aphids could berelated to the up-regulation of genes involved in the oxidative burst reaction, that occur early in the defence reaction, thenegative performance of moth larvae was associated with the enhanced expression of genes encoding for protective enzymes (i.e.Proteinase Inhibitor I, Threonine deaminase, Leucine aminopeptidase A1, Arginase 2, Polyphenol oxidase), that are activateddownstream in the defence cascade.In addition, the Trichoderma produced alterations in plant metabolic pathways lead to the production and release of volatileorganic compounds that are involved in the attraction of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi, thus reinforcing the indirect plantdefence barriers.Our findings, along with the evidence available in the literature, indicate that the outcome of the tripartite interaction amongplant, Trichoderma and pests is highly specific and only a comprehensive approach, integrating both insect phenotypic changes andplant transcriptomic alterations, can allow a reliable prediction of its potential for plant protection.