Observational analysis showed that Fusarium solani alters root characteristics in tomatoes, suggesting enhanced hormone interplay during fungal interactions.
The early stages of plant–microbe interaction are critical for establishing beneficial symbioses. We investigated how the endophytic fungus Fusarium solani strain FsK modulates tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) development and hormone pathways during in vitro co-cultivation. Seedlings were sampled at three early interaction stages (pre-contact, T1; initial contact, T2, 3 days post-contact, T3). Root traits and root and leaf transcripts for abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (ET) pathways were quantified, alongside fungal ET-biosynthesis genes. FsK altered root system architecture, increasing root area, lateral root number, root-hair length, and fresh biomass. These morphological changes coincided with tissue- and time-specific shifts. In leaves, FsK broadly affected ABA biosynthetic and homeostasis genes (ZEP1, NCED1, ABA2, AAO1, ABA-GT, BG1), indicating reduced de novo synthesis with enhanced deconjugation of stored ABA. ET biosynthesis was curtailed in leaves via down-regulation of ACC oxidase (ACO1–3), with isoform-specific changes in ACC synthase (ACS). The ET receptor ETR1 was transiently expressed early (T1–T2). FsK itself showed staged activation of fungal ET-biosynthesis genes. These results reveal coordinated fungal–plant hormone control at the transcriptional level that promotes root development during early interaction and support FsK’s potential as a biostimulant.
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Feka et al. (2025) studied this question.
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