Transcriptome analysis of Solanum lycopersicum roots provides novel insights into the plant response to a beneficial fungus

Rhizosphere-competent Plant-Growth-Promoting Fungi (PGPF) have inspired great interest for low input agriculture. In particular, Trichoderma harzianum strain T22 has proved to be also very effective for sustainable crop protection against pathogens. Our work investigated the transcriptional response of tomato roots (Solanum lycopersicum) to T22 at early stages of the interaction (24, 48 and 72 h), using RNA-seq. This analysis revealed an intense remodelling of the plant transcriptome already after 24 h, involving more than 75% of the detected Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs), while smaller effects on gene expression were observed at 48 and 72 h.