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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-399 - Conditional love: Profiling tomato plant immunity modulation during AMF symbiosis through snRNA-seq

Monday, July 14, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Symbiosis and Mutualism (mycorrhiza and N-fixing Rhizobia)

    Presenting Author(s)

  • NS

    Naomi Stuer

    Predoctoral fellow
    VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
    Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    • Author(s)

  • TL

    Toon Leroy

    Predoctoral fellow
    VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
    Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

  • TE

    Thomas Eekhout

    Postdoctoral fellow
    VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
    Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

  • JV

    Judith Van Dingenen

    Postdoctoral fellow
    VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
    Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

  • JL

    Juan Antonio López-Ráez

    Principal investigator
    Estacion Experimental del Zaidin
    Granada, Andalucia, Spain

  • SG

    Sofie Goormachtig

    Principal investigator
    VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
    Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic relationships with most land plants, enhancing nutrient uptake, particularly in phosphate-limited conditions. This interaction culminates in the formation of arbuscules—highly branched fungal structures within inner cortical cells—where symbiotic exchange occurs. Successful colonization requires suppression of host immune responses, balancing AMF accommodation with pathogen defense and preventing excessive fungal spread. The mechanisms governing this immune modulation remain unclear, but both the AMF and its plant host appear to play active roles in this process. Our research seeks to unravel the spatiotemporal regulation of plant immunity during colonization of Solanum lycopersicum by Rhizophagus irregularis, using single-nucleus RNA-seq. Our findings reveal a marked reduction in immunity gene expression in AMF-colonized cells. Furthermore, under low phosphate availability, root inner cortical cells appear to adopt distinct defensive or pre-symbiotic states. This suggests that plants fine-tune their immune responses based on nutritional cues, allowing AMF colonization only when a nutritional benefit is at stake. Moreover, we unveiled candidate genes as key players in immune modulation in phosphate-starved cells, promoting symbiosis when resources are scarce. These genes allude to conserved mechanisms for attuning host immunity to nutritional inputs, offering promising breeding targets for improving AMF symbiosis in crops.