TY  - JOUR
A1  - Waller, Frank
A1  - Mueller, Martin J.
A1  - Pedrotti, Lorenzo
T1  - Piriformospora indica Root Colonization Triggers Local and Systemic Root Responses and Inhibits Secondary Colonization of Distal Roots
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - Piriformospora indica is a basidiomycete fungus colonizing roots of a wide range of higher plants, including crop plants and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Previous studies have shown that P. indica improves growth, and enhances systemic pathogen resistance in leaves of host plants. To investigate systemic effects within the root system, we established a hydroponic split-root cultivation system for Arabidopsis. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we show that initial P. indica colonization triggers a local, transient response of several defense-related transcripts, of which some were also induced in shoots and in distal, non-colonized roots of the same plant. Systemic effects on distal roots included the inhibition of secondary P. indica colonization. Faster and stronger induction of defense-related transcripts during secondary inoculation revealed that a P. indica pretreatment triggers root-wide priming of defense responses, which could cause the observed reduction of secondary colonization levels. Secondary P. indica colonization also induced defense responses in distant, already colonized parts of the root. Endophytic fungi therefore trigger a spatially specific response in directly colonized and in systemic root tissues of host plants.
KW  - Arabidopsis thaliana
KW  - flowering plants
KW  - fungal spores
KW  - fungi
KW  - gene expression
KW  - marker genes
KW  - plant defenses
KW  - plant signaling
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96493
ER  -