Simultaneous transcriptome analysis of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and tomato fruits response reveals novel fungal-fruit arm and defense strategies

The simultaneous gene fungal-fruit expression at appressoria, quiescence and necrotrophic stages in C. gloeosporioides-tomato fruit interaction were characterized by Illumina NGS. Fungal appressoria stage on green fruit showed stage-specific transcription and was accompanied by massive fruit transcriptional defense response. The quiescent fungal transcriptome showed activation of chromatin remodeling genes while the fruit response continued a highly integrated and massive up-regulation of defense genes. The necrotrophic stage showed a dramatic shift in up-regulation of C. gloeosporioides pathogenicity factors and a susceptive fruit response that shows activation of the salicylic acid pathway culminating in cell death and anthracnose disease. Simultaneous fungal-fruit transcriptome analysis deepens our perception of the unfolding fungal-fruit arms and defenses race. Overall design: Tomato fruits cv. Mottel were inoculated with 7 µl, 106 conidia/ml at 30 inoculation spots per fruit on 5 different fruits per biological replicate with seven biological replicates per treatment. RNA for the appressoria and quiescent stages were collected 19 and 100 hpi of mature green tomato fruits inoculation, respectively. For necrotrophic stage growth a 10 mm2 of fruit cuticle was removed and inoculated with 70 µl of a conidial suspension (106 conidia/ml). Three inoculation spots on each of 10 different fruits were inoculated per biological replicate with seven biological replicate per treatment. RNA for necrotrophic stage evaluation was collected 48 hpi by removing 0.5 mm depth of tissue. Control fruits were similarly treated and processed by mock inoculation.