AUTHOR=López-Coria Montserrat , Guzmán-Chávez Fernando , Carvente-García Roberto , Muñoz-Chapul Daniela , Sánchez-Sánchez Tomás , Arciniega-Ruíz Juan Manuel , King-Díaz Beatriz , Sánchez-Nieto Sobeida 

TITLE=Maize plant expresses SWEET transporters differently when interacting with Trichoderma asperellum and Fusarium verticillioides, two fungi with different lifestyles

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1253741

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1253741

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Most Trichoderma species are beneficial fungi that promote plant growth and resistance, while Fusarium genera cause several crop damages. During the plant-fungi interaction there is a competition for sugars in both lifestyles. Here we analyzed the plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity of <italic>T. asperellum</italic> against <italic>F. verticillioides</italic> and the effect of both fungi on the expression of the maize diffusional sugar transporters, the SWEETs. The biocontrol activity was done in two ways, the first was by observing the growth capacity of both fungus in a dual culture.  The second one by analyzing the infection symptoms, the chlorophyl content and the transcript levels of defense genes determined by qPCR in plants with different developmental stages primed with <italic>T. asperellum</italic> conidia and challenged with <italic>F. verticillioides</italic>. In a dual culture, <italic>T. asperellum</italic> showed antagonist activity against <italic>F. verticillioides</italic>.  In the primed plants a delay in the infection disease was observed, they sustained chlorophyll content even after the infection, and displayed upregulated defense-related genes. Additionally, the <italic>T. asperellum</italic> primed plants had longer stems than the nonprimed plants. SWEETs transcript levels were analyzed by qPCR in plants primed with either fungus. Both fungi affect the transcript levels of several maize sugar transporters differently. <italic>T. asperellum</italic> increases the expression of six SWEETs on leaves and two at the roots and causes a higher exudation of sucrose, glucose, and fructose at the roots. On the contrary, <italic>F. verticillioides</italic> reduces the expression of the SWEETs on the leaves, and more severely when a more aggressive strain is in the plant. Our results suggest that the plant is able to recognize the lifestyle of the fungi and respond accordingly by changing the expression of several genes, including the SWEETs, to establish a new sugar flux. </p>