The dark septate endophyte Phialocephala sphaeroides confers growth fitness benefits and mitigates pathogenic effects of Heterobasidion on Norway spruce

We compared the expression profiles based on RNA sequencing of Picea abies seedlings infected either endophyte or pathogen tor both. We aimed at identifying the differences in host metabolic pathways which are primarily involved in phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis as well as hormone signaling that are due to pathogen infection, endophyte inoculation, or coinfection.