Systems biology and “omics” tools: A cooperation for next-generation mycorrhizal studies

Omics tools constitute a powerful means of describing the complexity of plants and soil-borne microorganisms. Next generation sequencing technologies, coupled with emerging systems biology approaches, seem promising to represent a new strategy in the study of plant–microbe interactions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous symbionts of plant roots, that provide their host with many benefits. However, as obligate biotrophs, AMF show a genetic, cellular and physiological complexity that makes the study of their biology as well as their effective agronomical exploitation rather difficult.Here, we speculate that the increasing availability of omics data on mycorrhiza and of computational tools that allow systems biology approaches represents a step forward in the understanding of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Furthermore, the application of this study-perspective to agriculturally relevant model plants, such as tomato and rice, will lead to a better in-field exploitation of this beneficial symbiosis in the frame of low-input agriculture.

► The mycorrhizal research community is currently experiencing major advances.
► The acquisition of high-throughput molecular data will support large-scale projects.
► The study of microbial metatranscriptomes in the rhizosphere will be a crucial step.
► The community would benefit from the development of a mycorrhiza bioinformatics hub.
► Such a hub should allow the linking of molecular data to phenological observations.