Transcriptome analyses of the Laccaria bicolor-Populus trichocarpa mycorrhiza development

Illumina GAIIx technology was used to generate mRNA profiles from the ectomycorrhizal fungi Laccaria bicolor colonizing roots of Populus trichocarpa. Samples were taken after two, four and 12 weeks of contact in order to identify mycorrhiza-regulated transcripts. 37bp reads were generated and aligned to the Populus trichocarpa (http://www.phytozome.net/poplar.php) and the Laccaria bicolor (http://genome.jgi-psf.org/Lacbi2/Lacbi2.home.html) reference genomes using CLC Genomics Workbench 6. mRNA profiles from Populus trichocarpa roots colonized by Laccaria bicolor for two, four and 12 weeks as well as from control roots and free-living mycelium were generated by using one lane of 37 bp Illumina GAIIx sequencing per sample.