PRJNA515188
Solanum lycopersicum cultivar:M-82, Zeraim Gedera Raw sequence reads
• A stem base inoculation approach was used to explore the ability of biochar to induce systemic resistance in tomato plants against crown rot caused by a soilborne pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici.• RNA-seq transcriptome profiling of tomato was performed to elucidate the in planta molecular mechanisms involved in induced resistance.• Biochar mediates systemic resistance against Fusarium crown rot and simultaneously improved tomato plant growth and physiological parameters. Transcriptomic analysis (RNA-seq) of tomato demonstrated that biochar had a priming effect on gene expression and upregulated the pathways and genes associated with plant defense and growth such as jasmonic acid, brassinosteroids, cytokinins, auxin and synthesis of flavonoid, phenylpropanoids and cell wall. In contrast, biosynthesis and signaling of the salicylic acid pathway was downregulated.• Upregulation of genes and pathways involved in plant defense and plant growth may partially explain the significant disease suppression and improvement in plant performance observed in the presence of biochar