Effect of Serendipita indica-infection on the gene expression in wild-type and cbl7 knockout mutants Arabidopsis thaliana plants

The root-colonizing fungal endophyte Serendipita indica, formerly known as Piriformospora indica, is well known to promote plant biomass production and stress tolerance of its host plants. Previous studies highlighted an important role of calcium Ca2+ signaling in the establishment of the plant–fungus interaction. We here report the comparative analysis of the effect of a mock- and S. indica-infection on both wild-type Arabidopsis plants (Col-3) and cbl7 knockout mutants. Our data provide evidence for the involement of the Ca2+ sensor CBL7 in the control of potassium distribution in the plant and in adjusting plant defense responses to allow the establishment of the plant–fungus symbiosis. The impairment of CBL7 was shown to translate into increased induction of plant defense-related genes. To investigate differential gene expression in mock- (WOP) and S. indica-infected (WP) Arabidopsis wild-type plants (Col-3) and cbl7 knockout mutants