1 página - Conferencia invitada presentada en Iberian Plant Biology 2023. XVIII Portuguese-Spanish Congress on Plant Biology and the XXV Meeting of the Spanish Society of Plant Biology. 9-12 Julio 2023, Braga, PortugalArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can prime plant defences increasing their resistance against
pathogens and insect herbivores. Using tomato as a model, we have shown that inoculation with
different AMF reduces the performance of the chewing herbivore Spodoptera exigua and the leaf miner
Tuta absoluta. Transcriptomic and metabolomics analyses revealed that this Mycorrhiza Induced
Resistance (MIR) is associated to boosted activation of plant direct and indirect defences in response to
the attackers. We found primed accumulation in attacked leaves of antiherbivore metabolites, including
alkaloids and polyamine conjugates, and functional analyses demonstrated that some of the identified
compounds significantly inhibit herbivore development. In addition, the symbiosis altered the volatile
blends released by the plant, and enhanced the attraction of natural enemies of the pests (Nesidiocoris
tenuis, commonly used in biocontrol programs). Finally, networks analyses allowed the identification of
key regulators of the primed response within the jasmonic acid and ethylene signalling pathways.
Despite the many studies showing induced resistance by microorganisms in different plant‐pest systems,
the variability in the protection achieved under agronomic settings is hindering the application of this
strategy in agriculture. Plant‐microbe‐herbivore interactions are highly context dependent, with multiple
biotic and abiotic factors influencing the final output. Identifying such factors is essential to optimize the
application of microbial inoculants for crop protection in agriculture. We found that the plant genotype
and nutrient availability are important drivers of the context dependency of MIR in tomato. Despite of
the variability, comparisons across different experimental scales, from controlled lab set‐ups to
commercial production conditions, confirmed that MIR can be achieved under crop production
conditions and is compatible with other biocontrol methods. Accordingly, MIR can be a relevant addition
to current Integrated Pest Management Programs