Transcriptomics Analysis in the Study of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in Orchids

In past decades, high-throughput transcriptome sequencing has been widely applied to explore the transcript control of the gene expression during the interaction between orchid seeds or seedlings and their mycobionts to improve our knowledge about the mechanism of orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis. In this chapter, we summarized recent advances in gene expression profile and function identification of orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis, with emphases on genes related to nutrient transferring, hormone biosynthesis and signaling, pathogenesis, and cell wall structure remodeling in the protocorm stage. In addition, we discussed critical challenges associated with transcriptome application in orchid seed symbiotic germination and mycorrhizal mechanism and proposed some directions for future studies using RNA-Seq technology to deal with these challenges.