Unraveling plant–microbe interactions: can multi-species transcriptomics help?

El presente artículo de revisión revela parte de las interacciones entre plantas y microorganismos a partir de estudios transcriptómicos. El conocimiento claro de estas interacciones puede contribuir al diseño de estrategias que promuevan una mayor productividad de los cultivos superando afecciones bióticas y ambientales. Estos análisis transcriptómicos abordan el estudio de la expresión de genes de los organismos que participan en la interacción.

Peer M. Schenk, Lilia C. Carvalhais and Kemal Kazan

Trends in Biotechnology, 30 (3): 177-184 (2012)

 

Plants in their natural habitats are surrounded by a large number of microorganisms. Some microbes directly interact with plants in a mutually beneficial manner whereas others colonize the plant only for their own benefit. In addition, microbes can indirectly affect plants by drastically altering their environments. Understanding the complex nature of plant–microbe interactions can potentially offer new strategies to enhance plant productivity in an environmentally friendly manner. As briefly reviewed here, the emerging area of multi-species transcriptomics holds the promise to provide knowledge on how this can be achieved. We discuss key aspects of how transcriptome analysis can be used to provide a more comprehensive picture of the complex interactions of plants with their biotic and abiotic environments.