The early phase of the interaction between tree roots and ectomycorrhizal fungi, prior to symbiosis establishment, is accompanied by a stimulation of lateral root (LR) development. We aimed to identify gene networks that regulate LR development during the early signal exchanges between poplar (Populus tremula 3 Populus alba) and the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor with a focus on auxin transport and signaling pathways. Our data demonstrated that increased LR development in poplar and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) interacting with L. bicolor is not dependent on the ability of the plant to form ectomycorrhizae. LR stimulation paralleled an increase in auxin accumulation at root apices. Blocking plant polar auxin transport with 1-naphthylphthalamic acid inhibited LR development and auxin accumulation. An oligoarray-based transcript profile of poplar roots exposed to molecules released by L. bicolor revealed the differential expression of 2,945 genes, including several components of polar auxin transport (PtaPIN and PtaAUX genes), auxin conjugation (PtaGH3 genes), and auxin signaling (PtaIAA genes). Transcripts of PtaPIN9, the homolog of Arabidopsis AtPIN2, and several PtaIAAs accumulated specifically during the early interaction phase. Expression of these rapidly induced genes was repressed by 1-naphthylphthalamic acid. Accordingly, LR stimulation upon contact with L. bicolor in Arabidopsis transgenic plants defective in homologs of these genes was decreased or absent. Furthermore, in Arabidopsis pin2, the root apical auxin increase during contact with the fungus was modified. We propose a model in which fungus-induced auxin accumulation at the root apex stimulates LR formation through a mechanism involving PtaPIN9-dependent auxin redistribution together with PtaIAA-based auxin signaling.Most temperate forest trees develop a mutualistic root symbiosis with ectomycorrhizal soil fungi. During the establishment of ectomycorrhiza (ECM), fungal hyphae invade the root from root cap cells in and upwards to the epidermis (Horan et al., 1988). After attachment to epidermal cells, hyphae multiply to form a series of layers that differentiate to establish a mantle structure around the root (Horan et al., 1988). An internal network of hyphae between the epidermis and root cortex cells forms the Hartig net (Blasius et al., 1986), while extraradical hyphae prospect throughout the surrounding soil and gather nutrients. Morphological observations of forming ECMs have shown that in the vicinity of the fungus the root architecture of the host plant is profoundly modified. Interaction with hyphae stimulates lateral root (LR) formation, dichotomy of the root apical meristem in conifer species, and cytodifferentiation of root cells (radial elongation and root hair decay; Horan et al., 1988;Dexheimer and Pargney, 1991;. Even though several studies have focused on LR stimulation during ECM formation, it still remains unclear what the molecular mechanisms are that modify root development during contact with the fungus.In the ...

Raman and Fourier transform IR (FTIR) microspectroscopic images of biological material (tissue sections) contain detailed information about their chemical composition. The challenge lies in identifying changes in chemical composition, as well as locating and assigning these changes to different conditions (pathology, anatomy, environmental or genetic factors). Multivariate data analysis techniques are ideal for decrypting such information from the data. This protocol provides a user-friendly pipeline and graphical user interface (GUI) for data pre-processing and unmixing of pixel spectra into their contributing pure components by multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) analysis. The analysis considers the full spectral profile in order to identify the chemical compounds and to visualize their distribution across the sample to categorize chemically distinct areas. Results are rapidly achieved (usually <30-60 min per image), and they are easy to interpret and evaluate both in terms of chemistry and biology, making the method generally more powerful than principal component analysis (PCA) or heat maps of single-band intensities. In addition, chemical and biological evaluation of the results by means of reference matching and segmentation maps (based on k-means clustering) is possible.

The mutualistic association of roots with ectomycorrhizal fungi promotes plant health and is a hallmark of boreal and temperate forests worldwide. In the pre-colonization phase, before direct contact, lateral root (LR) production is massively stimulated, yet little is known about the signals exchanged during this step. Here, we identify sesquiterpenes (SQTs) as biologically active agents emitted by Laccaria bicolor while interacting with Populus or Arabidopsis. We show that inhibition of fungal SQT production by lovastatin strongly reduces LR proliferation and that (–)-thujopsene, a low-abundance SQT, is sufficient to stimulate LR formation in the absence of the fungus. Further, we show that the ectomycorrhizal ascomycote, Cenococcum geophilum, which cannot synthesize SQTs, does not promote LRs. We propose that the LR-promoting SQT signal creates a win-win situation by enhancing the root surface area for plant nutrient uptake and by improving fungal access to plant-derived carbon via root exudates.