Alkaloids as signals of stress to modulate microbiome assembly in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Objective

Plants host diverse communities of microorganisms called plant microbiome that provide specific services by several mechanisms. Because of its capacity to enhance plant nutrient uptake, yield, and tolerance to challenging conditions, the rhizosphere microbiome stands as a valuable bioresource for fostering sustainable agriculture. However, there remains a lack in comprehending the process of interaction within the rhizosphere-microbiome ecosystem. Plants secrete a broad of secondary metabolites, which vary with species and may interact with the biota. Alkaloids, a class of secondary metabolites play a major role in plants' signaling and defense. Although significant progress has been made in elucidating the role of polyphenols in controlling Arabidopsis roots microbiome, little is known about the impact of the alkaloids on microbiome shaping. In this project, we intend to dissect the hidden role of alkaloids in controlling the root microbiome of tomato in response to biotic/abiotic stress and to determine the related microbial processes and services that will help the plant under stress using a multidisciplinary approach. We first seek to identify the effects of Phytophthora infestans attack and nitrogen deficiency on the composition of tomato root-microbiome. Then, we intend to unravel the biological role of alkaloids on microbiome control under stressful conditions. Afterward, the interrelation microbiome and alkaloids will be better defined using SynComs. Finally, we will employ bioinformatics pipelines to analyze data and to decode the correlation alkaloids-microbiome-plant performance. The outcomes of this project will provide new insights on the interaction tomato-alkaloids and microbiome, allowing for a better understanding of alkaloids, and how tomato use it to communicate with the microbiome under stresses. It will reveal promising avenues for leveraging alkaloids as signals to control and harness the rhizomicrobiome to enhance tomato fitness and production