A broad characterization of the transcriptional profile of the compatible tomato response to the plant parasitic root knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica

The root knot nematode Meloidogyne javanicaa plant parasite that is an agricultural pest, establishes and maintains a permanent feeding site within plant roots. In order to gain a broad view of gene expression in nematode feeding sites during the compatible response of tomato to root knot nematodes, we used the tomato spotted microarray chip, followed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) validation. Cluster analysis and determination of the amplitude of gene expression suggested that the plant response at 5 days post-inoculation was not as vigorous as that at 10 days post-inoculation. In addition, by filtering the data for genes that were significantly up- or down-regulated during the interaction, we identified both the quantitative and qualitative differences between the two time points. Our microarray experiments demonstrated significant changes in the steady-state levels of transcripts of several functional categories, including pathogenesis-related genes, hormone-associated genes and development-associated transcription factors.